The Canadian connection

According to the March issue of Employee Benefit News, many large associations of employees and retirees in the U.S. are directing their health plan members to Canadian pharmacies for relief from rising prescription costs, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that the practice is generally illegal. The publication reported that last year alone, two million prescription orders were shipped to individuals living in the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, and other foreign countries.

The article outlines how prescription drug price comparisons can be obtained by logging on to Drugstore.com and CrossBorderMeds.com, where, for example, a 90-day supply of the generic breast cancer treatment drug tamoxifen citrate (10 mg) was reported to cost $143.58 on Drugstore.com, but only $26.07 through the Canadian pharmacy.