Canadian Pharmacy's

[Charles.M]

I was going through some older posts and found one by Jim Allen on Candian pharmacies for the US. I am currently taking Biktarvy which at my Phamacy is $4600 a month or 153.00 a pill.

I have seen mixed things about a generic "Taffic" in India and many things saying there is no generic?

On Canadian Pharmacy dot com they list both branded and Generic. The Generic is listed @ $715.00 for 90 days ($7.94 a pill) and the branded is listed @ $4035.00 for 90 days ($43.94 a pill).

They are listed on the CIPA safe site. I am very interested in this obviously. Mty current script with Insurance and Gilead co-pay card cost me zero. But when my wife retires soon will be different story. Also my last script was late at Walgreens even though I am on auto refill, I was luck i did not miss a dose as the ID doctor gave me a 30 day bottle on my first visit. I would like to have a bigger buffer though and down the road this would be far mor affordable.

You guys in other countries can t imagine how lucky you are to get your drugs so cheap and in a lot of cases free. Here in US using my case projected out with meds doctors visits ETC I am looking at about 80 to 100K a year.  Biktarvy alone is 55K a year. I know about ADAP and other things (wont qualify). This seems like a good alternative down the road?

CIPA https://www.cipa.com/cipa-safe-pharmacies
Canadian Pharmacy's service https://www.canadianpharmacyservice.com/drug/biktarvy

Anyone have any experience or insight?

[virgo313]

You guys in other countries can t imagine how lucky you are to get your drugs so cheap and in a lot of cases free.

Yes agree we are very lucky for having excess to free medication. There is also the downside of not having the newer drugs even there is generic available. As Atripla is working for most of us, we don’t have chance of newer combinations. Don’t think our government will bring in newer generic since current handful combo that hospitals is curing patients. I tried asking for the lower Efavirenz 400mg & my Dr told me to stick to 600ml. Still I am lucky to get free “old” ART.

[Jim Allen]

This one from 2019?

Thought this was worth posting.

Full info here: https://www.poz.com/article/considering-buying-prescription-drugs-canada-legal-know-getting

It is legal to bring back a 90-day personal supply of medication from a foreign country, assuming that the medication is approved for use in the United States and you have a valid prescription or doctor’s note. The medication must be in its original container. Controlled substances, such as opioids, benzodiazepines, etc., can be brought into the country only in quantities of 50 dosage units or less.

Technically, having medications shipped to you is illegal in most cases. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does make exceptions to this, particularly in cases of serious illness for which there are no effective treatments in the United States. Click here to read the FDA’s Personal Importation Policy.

As for knowing what you are getting, buying medicine on the internet from any source can be risky; before you do that, read the FDA’s BeSafeRx tips. When buying from Canada, you can trust drugs that are certified by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association. However, before obtaining medication from another country, click here to explore ways to lower medication costs at home, such as prescription assistance programs and other options.

Never ordered from Canada myself.

Funny enough, there are some drugs I ship from the US to Ireland as it's cheaper than the alternatives closer to home or it's drugs we can't get here, although, it's not HIV meds.

[MitchMiller]

In 2025, Medicare Part D will have an out-of-pocket maximum of $2000 for prescription drugs.  That value will then increase each year based on inflation (and possibly some other criteria).  This was in one of the bills passed within the past two years.

Now, the Republicans have already introduced a bill to repeal this change to Part D.  Given the Democrats control the Senate and White House, it hasn't been scheduled for debate.  However, that could change after the 2024 elections.