How to afford the same brand name and same quality medications without prescription drug insurance?

In the United States there are 44 million people without prescription drug insurance coverage.  These people pay substantially more on average (15%) than people covered by insurance.  The reason for this is that insurance companies are able to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers. 

More than 69 million (25.1%) Americans have no prescription drug insurance, while many others lack adequate coverage.

Data shows that 36 million American adults did not fill a prescription in 2016 because of the cost. 

Large majorities favor the following options:

• requiring drug companies to list prices in their ads (88%), 
• making it easier for generic drugs to come to market (88%), 
• allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices for people with Medicare (86%), and 

• making it easier for generic drugs to come to market (88%), 
• allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices for people with Medicare (86%), and 
• allowing Americans to buy drugs imported from Canada (80%): 

WHAT CONSUMERS CAN DO

Sign “Endorse the Brussels Principles” to tell Congress to allow people order medications over the internet. There is a web page for persons or groups interested in endorsing the petition here: www.brusselsprinciples.org.

BRUSSELS PRINCIPLES ON THE SALE OF MEDICINES OVER THE INTERNET

The Brussels Principles include the following:

• Access to affordable medical products is a fundamental component of the right to health.
• Patients with a prescription should be able to use the Internet to order safe, quality and affordable medical products for personal use.

As for the safety of online pharmacies, you can also look for vendors certified with the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) or the Manitoba International Pharmacists Association (MIPA). A legitimate pharmacy will follow the same prescription process as U.S. mail-order companies, requiring a valid and signed prescription from the patient’s doctor or health care provider.

Reference:

• healthline.com 
• healio.com
• kff.org
• drugwatch.com
• CIPA.com