Washington, D.C. – A new price comparison of prescription drugs finds online Canadian pharmacy prices 50 to 90% more affordable than prices at AmazonPharmacy, GoodRx and leading U.S. pharmacy competitors. The analysis by the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation (CPPI) comes as Congress turns its attention to the high cost of U.S. prescription drugs in a Senate hearing scheduled tomorrow for the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee.
“Saving 50 to 90 percent on drug prices from Canadian pharmacies can literally mean life or death for many U.S. patients. Americans deserve access to affordable medications,” says Jack Pfeiffer, CPPI Executive Director. “Too often U.S. pharmacies like CVS, and newer options like Amazon and GoodRx are more than happy grabbing profits along with the Big Pharma machine at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Online Canadian pharmacies place critical medications back in the reach of American patients, allowing patients to directly recoup the savings.”
In 2020, 9 in 10 Americans feared that the pharmaceutical industry would use the COVID-19 Pandemic to raise drug prices, according to a Gallup poll. Those fears have been realized. In the month of January alone, the price of over 830 drugs increased in the U.S. In a 2021 Medication Access Report by CoverMyMeds, 67% of patients reported learning that their prescription would cost more than they expected. The pandemic has motivated many Americans to find more affordable prescription drug options.
SAVINGS CPPI survey data released in February shows that Americans importing prescription drugs save an average of $228 a month ($2,736 a year) on medication from online Canadian pharmacies. People who spend more than $300 a month on prescriptions reported saving $755 a month, up from $648 in 2019. For years, CPPI tracking has shown that Canadian drug prices offer savings on leading name brand prescription drugs of over 50%.
SAFETY Purchasing prescription medications for importation from licensed and certified online Canadian pharmacies is safe and easy. For decades, FDA guidance has helped people safely import medications. Online pharmacies recommended by CPPI like those certified by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) report a 100% perfect safety record while serving millions of American customers since 2002. As of 2020, 2.3 million Americans import medications, and the number of people ordering their medications online is growing according to the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies.
COMPARISON METHODOLOGY & NOTES
This comparison reflects prices for 30 day supplies of top selling brand-name medications using the most common strengths prescribed to patients. Prices recorded as of Dec 15, 2020. Pricing and discounts do fluctuate day by day. The recorded percentages reflect savings offered by certified online Canadian pharmacies over the lowest U.S. discount price, be those from Amazon Prime or a traditional U.S. pharmacy as reported by GoodRx. All prices are in U.S. dollars. This comparison reflects prices without insurance.
Canadian mail order prescription pricing calculated using the average price of pharmacies certified by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA). Canadian product pricing is for Health Canada-approved brand name products, dispensed by a pharmacy licensed in Canada. Over 70 websites have CIPA certification, prices vary. Certified online pharmacies do not sell controlled substances, narcotics, pseudoephedrine products, or highly temperature sensitive products including Botox, Insulin, Victoza, Saxenda.
Amazon Pharmacy is not yet available in all regions of the U.S. Amazon orders are limited to 30 day supplies. Figure 1 displays prices at the discounted Amazon Prime rate, non-Prime prices and discount percentage are included in Table 1. Prices for traditional pharmacies were compared through GoodRx, and the lowest discount/coupon prices are reflected in the U.S./GoodRx column. GoodRx gathers current prices, coupons and discounts from leading traditional pharmacy operators including CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Costco, Safeway, Albertsons, Publix and others.