topic Re: Canadian Pharmacy in Wellness

Canadian Pharmacy

NeNe1010 — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:21:26 GMT

I feel so stupid. When I went on Medicare the drug I take was not on their formulary and would be almost $500.00 per month if I paid myself. I cannot take the generic of this drug. We have tried it several times and my symptoms return. I thought I had located a reputable pharmacy in Canada but after 3 months I knew something was wrong. Took the box etc to my Dr who had faxed them the script- dispense as written, no generic and the name of the drug was spelled wrong, none of the instructions were in English and my Dr said he didn’t know what I was taking. I was a mess. I am now taking the brand name drug. My Dr did a prior authorization to my prescription co and I am back on track. Just a forewarning to all. Take the box etc to your Dr. On the first supply you receive to make sure it is authentic.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Love my grandkids — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:28:22 GMT

@NeNe1010 Many many years ago when I was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, metformin was horribly expensive.

I contacted a Canadian pharmacy, with my doc's prior OK, that I found on line and ordered it from them. Doc looked at it and said it was fine and monitored me.

Did that for almost 2 years when the price in the U.S. suddenly became very affordable.

Sorry you had such a bad experience and hope you are doing better now.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

skatting44 — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:30:11 GMT

Thanks for the FYI. By the way did your insursance prior to enrolling in Medicare cover the medication you mentioned ? I am concerned abt signing up for Medicare because of their restrictions. My Mother did not enroll in Medicare part A until she was 85 as she had private insurance and felt there would be issues with the quality of care she received under Medicare . My Aunt has encountered some issues with prescribed lab work not being paid under Medicare ... The medications souced outside the USA is tricky as you encountered.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Love my grandkids — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:33:20 GMT

@skatting44 I have Medicare and UHC. I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer early 2017. I've had surgery, chemo, radiation, MRI's, CT scans, a port placed for chemo, periodic blood draws and scans and I have never paid a single penny.

I have also received GOLD STAR treatment! I have one of the best oncologists in western WA state and am treated at one of the BEST hospitals in the state.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

SandySparkles — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:33:59 GMT

Oh my! Thanks for the heads up! After all the negativity in the media lately regarding medication from Bangladesh and China, I was considering Canada for my prescription needs, but now I suppose I need to do more research.😐

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Carmie — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:41:29 GMT

Many medications, especially the very expensive ones require preauthorization with your insurance company prior to them covering them.

They are covered, but you need approval first. This information and all the RX drugs available is listed in your formulary booklet you should receive from the insurance company.

There are very few drugs that are not covered at all if medically necessary.

Most non Medicare insurance plans follow the Medicare guidelines, so there should be little to no change in coverage when you go on Medicare but the cost of the drug does vary depending on the plan chosen.

I would always check with the insurance company before buying drugs from a strange company outside of the US.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Catlady Nicole — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:47:23 GMT

My employer has partnered with a company called CanaRx that provides name brand only drugs to us at zero copay. I'll be honest, I have no idea if you could use them, but I wanted to at lease share the info, in case it's helpful.....good luck with your meds.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

NeNe1010 — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:11:56 GMT

The agent who we consulted with told me no insurance co would cover it as there is a generic alternative. For some reason the generic does not work for me. I thought the Canadian pharmacy was a good alternative. The weird thing is the pharmacy was Canadian but the med was from Turkey? That should have been a red flag for me. The med was Lexapro, an antidepressant so I really got myself in a mess.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

cindyNC — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:12:09 GMT

The Council on Aging (in my county) offers a service whereby they input your medications into the Medicare Program and help a person find the best Part D prescription plan.

They do this every year when open enrollment for Part D is effective as the pharmacy programs change their formularies annually.

The man who was there the same time I was, was doing it for both his father and himself. He managed to save several thousand dollars and get one of his father's prescriptions covered by changing plans. Last year they reported that they saved seniors $450,000 in prescription costs.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

NeNe1010 — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:17:49 GMT

Prior to Medicare Anthem insurance partially covered it - $75.00 a month cost to me as opposed to $487.00 per month after a long fight with them by my Dr. My Dr has now done the same prior authorization to WellCare ( same ridiculous fight) and they are now paying part of it. It is an antidepressant so I’m kid of between a rock and a hard place.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Drythe — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:27:41 GMT

@NeNe1010

Sorry you encountered this problem.

DH was involved with a medication monitoring study which specifically broke down and studied medication made in Canada. In the 2 year time period, there were 0 failures.

I agree ‘Made in Turkey’ was a flag.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Carmie — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 23:36:18 GMT

@NeNe1010 wrote:
The agent who we consulted with told me no insurance co would cover it as there is a generic alternative. For some reason the generic does not work for me. I thought the Canadian pharmacy was a good alternative. The weird thing is the pharmacy was Canadian but the med was from Turkey? That should have been a red flag for me. The med was Lexapro, an antidepressant so I really got myself in a mess.

Your agent was incorrect. Almost all insurance companies will require you to buy a generic if available for very expensive non-preferred drugs. If you cannot take the generic version, you must request approval. The approval usually lasts for one year and you must make the request again.

Often, insurance companies will require you to try up to three generic drugs before you will get approval for non preferred drugs. If you are ever denied a drug, contact your doctor and the insurance company to get instruction of how to get an approval.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

patbz — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 03:18:08 GMT

@skatting44 : I'm not sure but I think the rules have changed since your Mom opted not to take Medicare (and used her private insurance). My understanding is that Medicare pays what they will cover and then your private insurance (if you have it) pays the rest. If you don't opt into Medicare you miss out on 80% they cover and your supplemental still only pays 20%. If this wasn't the case, your supplemental would cost much more. The two forms of insurance are coordinated benefits not "you pick what you want to use".

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

Lilysmom — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 10:12:44 GMT

@NeNe1010 , sorry you are having this issue. I am Canadian. Medications are highly regulated in Canada,

One of the emerging issues in Canada is drug shortages as non Canadians are purchasing medications from Canada. Just a heads up to those who use the service. What usually follows an issue like this is regulation to tighten access. LM

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

chrystaltree — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 14:44:37 GMT

The lesson to be learned from OP's post is don't think you know it all. While most insurance companies will only allow generics, there is always an approval process for patients who cannot take the generic form of a medication. The prescribing physician documents the clinical rationale for the brand name drug and requests preauthorization. I had to use that process for my thyroid medication.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

kitty60 — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 16:59:17 GMT

I have ordered through Canadia pharmacies but I don't think they are all legit. You need to do your homework.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

BriggsiePeawiggle — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 22:23:27 GMT

I have buying Nexium from a Canadian Pharmacy for a long time. It is spelled differently because it was made in Sweden by Astra Zeneca. Otherwise it is the same drug. No problems whatsoever and I didn't have to sell my soul to purchase it when it was dropped from our insurance.

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

JumpTheRope — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 07:26:38 GMT

Most drugs are manufactured in India/China, by American (global really)

companies.

Then they sell the exact same product to Canada as they do to the USA, but far cheaper....then we Americans buy them back from Canada!

WE AMERICANS pay the highest prices for drugs, even though many are discovered through OUR tax payer funded RnD/NIH.

The patent for the drug is sold for pennies on the dollar to a PRIVATE

Big Pharmaceutical manufacturer.

So what is American’s “Return on Investments” ( in discovering/funding the RnD of medicines?)

We pay up the behind, while other countries reap the benefits.

(btw, it was a 60-minutes type program from several years ago that exposed all this....and more).

Re: Canadian Pharmacy

NeNe1010 — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 01:25:21 GMT

The drug from the Canadian pharmacy was labeled Celexa and underneath that name was the generic name for Lexapro and it was misspelled. The prescription faxed to the pharmacy by my MD said Lexapro and DAW, dispense as written. No generic so I’m not sure what happened. I should have taken the first supply my MD to make sure all was right. Lesson learned. My MD said he had never had that happen to any of his other patients getting drugs from Canada. I just wanted to share my story so people would contact their MD right away if something doesn’t seem right.