Moo52

Morning all, just need some advice about online pharmacy(Canada,UK other) from the US.
My husband suffers with Ulcerative Colitis and takes 3 tablets daily, we had a stock from the UK but now running out. His one tablet cost $600 per month, he has what we think is a good health plan from work even so that is the monthly cost!!! I have looked online and the drug cost just over $100 from some online pharmacies!
Just looking for some advice re the pitfalls as we have never before used online for medication.
TIA

Jerseygirl

Our healthcare plan (Atena) covers drugs. We can pick them up from the pharmacy...which is ok for an odd script or too. Normally we use Atena's online pharmacy...Express Scripts. They are shipped every 3 months and are cheaper. You will probably find your husband's healthcare plan will use a particular on line pharmacy. In fact if his policy covers meds...he will most likely have to use the one the insurance company use.

If not be very careful which one you use.

There is a website which will tell you the costs of meds in your area. I forget the name...but I'm sure someone will post a link for you.

Pulaski

I am not sure there is much to say - Mrs P was prescribed an eye-wateringly expensive drug 11 years ago - the cost was $2,000 locally from the hospital pharmacy (high street pharmacies didn't stock it at all), and it was available from a pharmacy in Massachusetts for about $900. She sent the prescription and received the drug a day later.

Moo52

Thank you both for your replies will look at Anthem online. After almost 12 months in the US the medical insurance stuff is still a mystery, mainly because nobody will give a straight answer😁 as an NHS nurse you would think I could understand it a bit 🇬🇧(I miss the NHS)

Pulaski

I think your problem may be that you are assuming that there is one!

CA-NY

Check online to see if there are any manufacturer coupons available online from the drug company. I recently was given a prescription and the cost at my local Walgreens was going to be $140 for a 3 month supply, that was with insurance. A manufacturer coupon was available online, Walgreens accepted it no problem at all and the new cost was $25 for 3 months! I'm not saying your particular drug will have this but it's worth at least checking.Search a site like this https://www.internetdrugcoupons.com/

jkeller

https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/vipps...armacies-list/

These are real pharmacies, not the no prescription needed online pharmacy.
Sams Club, Costco often have generic drugs for less than the copay cost of your insurance plan.

Moo52

Yep rookie mistake 😂😂

Olly_

www.goodrx.com perhaps?

md95065

Even if there is one, it is probably a closely guarded secret which very few people know ...

Jerseygirl

Which reminds me...buying prescription drugs without a doctor's script is illegal.

Lanyu

This is the best bet if the drug is avaliable through them.

petitefrancaise

my suggestions:
1. call your prescription insurance and ask why your co-pay is so high. My son was prescribed some hay fever stuff by the doctor and the co-pay was really high. Icalled the insurance company and they said that they will lower co-pay if the doctor gives them a medical reason why this particular drug is necessary and not a cheaper alternative or if you have already tried the cheaper alternative and it didn't work. So, it's worth a shot.
2.Ask the doctor to prescribe an alternative.
3. Look on goodrx.com to see if you can get cheaper elsewhere and make use of any coupons available.
4. Ask the doctor if they send the prescriptions through an online/mail order company to get cheaper meds. My dermatologist does this and what usually happens is that there is no/little co-pay because the manufacturer picks up the tab. They do this knowing that they lose business because of high-copays - if they "pay" the co-pay then they will still get the $$ from the insurance company which can be hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Look at Valeant Patient Assistance Program
5. Go to the manufacturer website and look for coupons or register for them. It's basically the same as in #4 above.

Moo52

Thank you for your great replies,lots to research, so will hopefully work something out x Many Thanks

Pulaski

A couple of years ago I went looking for an antibiotic which is prescribed for both humans and animals, because one of our cats had a recurring infection and I was getting frustrated with shelling out $100 for a consultation only to be told the same thing. I chased numerous on-line pharmacy links, focusing mostly in Canada and Mexico, which promised the drug for a few dollars, but I ended going down various wormholes, clicking link after link and not actually getting to a place that actually seemed to accept an actual order for the drug. Then I found one, filled in the order section, then moved on to the payment screen ..... and discovered that I was about to give my credit card details to somewhere in Russia' Obviously I bailed out at that point!