Savings from Canadian Internet Pharmacies Are Limited

IN RESPONSE:

We agree with Dr. Rothberg that Americans should not have to look north of the border to access more affordable medications. The underlying premise of our article was not to promote the purchase of Canadian pharmaceuticals but to quantify and highlight the differences in brand-name medication prices between the 2 countries. The average savings of 24% per unit that we cited should serve as a benchmark for Congress to target in lowering brand-name medication prices domestically for all Americans. Canadian-style strategies to lower medication prices, including price control through the Patented Medicines Price Review Board and the use of market-based competition through provincial drug reimbursement formularies, have proven to be effective. Of importance, Americans can look within their own borders to observe the benefits of drug coverage formularies. As Dr. Rothberg pointed out, this strategy has been used successfully by the Veterans Administration to lower medication prices for U.S. government employees (1). Congress will need to find creative ways to extend a formulary-based strategy to benefit low-income Americans who are without prescription drug coverage—ironically, the same individuals who pay the highest prices for their medications.