Prescription drug prices

[JohnnyLaRue]

I hope this is in the right forum as I am looking for a deal. Kinda lengthy so please bear with me here.

 

My Russian gf (in Russia) was prescribed the USA drug Straterra. In her homeland it is $150 USD for 30 pills. (thats about 5100 rubles) She will be visiting me (again) in a few months. She wants to know if it is cheaper to buy it in the USA and return back home with the medicine.

 

I have ZERO experience with the US health care system for obvious reasons and find it much easier (and cheaper) to fly back home to Canada and get all my health care needs taken care of every time I go back to visit. Which is why I throw myself at the mercy of the GD'ers who know much more than I do.

 

Other questions I have thought of:

 

- What is the price for this drug without insurance in the USA?

- Is there a cheaper drug she could ask her doctor to prescribe?

- Is there a Generic for this drug?

- Is there some discount card she can get in the USA?

- Is it cheaper to get the prescription in bulk?

- I see places like Wal-Mart and CostCo saying 90 day prescription for like $15 is this true?

- Will they accept a foriegn prescription (written in English) in the USA?

- If not could she go to a free clinic and get the medicine/prescription?

- Could she sign up for health insurance in the USA get the prescription and then cancel the insurance?

- Should we just wait till after Dec. as she is visiting me again and we will both be in Canada.

- Are the drugs in Mexico remotely safe and worth the drive there (my guess is NO!!)

 

 

I'm open to all intelligent suggestions. :)

[mom2maddynsky27]

if you are talking about Strattera (that commonly used to treat adhd). it is about that price here. i am not sure as my ds takes another med fr his and it runs about $100 something a month.

 

http://www.walmart.com/4prescriptions

 

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf

 

did not answer them all...but hope that helps.

[JohnnyLaRue]

Much thanks, that is a start. :)

[Rockfordmom]

Walmart and other places with those $4 prescriptions are only for generic prescriptions.

Most mental health prescriptions are not available in generics unfortunately.

Most health insurance that you sign up for yourself (not employer offered) won't cover prescriptions or dr. visits only hospitalization and she would have to meet a deductible first.

I don't think a free clinic gives out $150 prescriptions for free. I think they provide medical care and immunizations and birth control...

Have you checked into ordering them from Canada? It's supposedly cheaper...

Many years ago I purchased prescriptions and OTC's from Mexico without any problems, but that's just my experience.

[AndreaInNC]

there is no generic for Strattera that I am aware of.

 

the only generic ADHD med that I know of is Ritallin. And if you are over 18, it can be hard to get a script filled for that since it is considered a controlled substance.

 

If she gets US healthcare, she would have to visit a doctor in order to get them to write a script for her for the Strattera. And then, a doctor will normally only write a script for one month at a time for a few months until they know it is what works best. And then depending on the coverage that you purchase - brand name drugs can be at a min of $35 per month - or more.

 

So when you add up the cost of the insurance policy, the cost of the doctor visit and the monthly bill for the drug - it doesn't seem to me that she'd come out ahead.

[JohnnyLaRue]

She is not a US citizen. The purpose/logic behind the free clinic visit was to get the script in case the USA drugstores would not take a foriegn prescription.

 

I guess the best option is looking like taking care of it when I go back home to Canada in December and she is with me. The drugs are far far cheaper there.

[bugsette]

I've never done this .... but on line??????

[Rockfordmom]

I think it depends on the county. Here there's no free clinic, the clinics cost for a visit, and you even have to pay like $6 each for county vaccines. But if I go towards Chicago to Cook County vaccines are completely free and I think you can find free clinics. And you can get birth control much cheaper in Cook County too. And in Cook County they just give vaccines to anybody with a child that asks, here you have to prove that you are a resident to pay for them???

[sas377]

FYI - Atomoxetine is the generic for Strattera. The generic should be fairly cheap.

[Sue-Z-Q]

FYI - Atomoxetine is the generic for Strattera. The generic should be fairly cheap.

Not true! That IS the chemical name, but it is not available for generic until 2017.

[Sue-Z-Q]

For what I know:

I hope this is in the right forum as I am looking for a deal. Kinda lengthy so please bear with me here.

 

My Russian gf (in Russia) was prescribed the USA drug Straterra. In her homeland it is $150 USD for 30 pills. (thats about 5100 rubles) She will be visiting me (again) in a few months. She wants to know if it is cheaper to buy it in the USA and return back home with the medicine.

 

I have ZERO experience with the US health care system for obvious reasons and find it much easier (and cheaper) to fly back home to Canada and get all my health care needs taken care of every time I go back to visit. Which is why I throw myself at the mercy of the GD'ers who know much more than I do.

 

Other questions I have thought of:

 

- What is the price for this drug without insurance in the USA? about 130.00 at CVS

- Is there a cheaper drug she could ask her doctor to prescribe? Ritalin, generic available

- Is there a Generic for this drug? NO, not until 2017

- Is there some discount card she can get in the USA? Yes, Rite-aid offers them, but it won't be under $130.00 is my guess.

- Is it cheaper to get the prescription in bulk? Usually yes.

- I see places like Wal-Mart and CostCo saying 90 day prescription for like $15 is this true? Yes, but not for this.

- Will they accept a foriegn prescription (written in English) in the USA? NO. She will need to have an American doctor write her a prescription to get it filled in the USA.

- If not could she go to a free clinic and get the medicine/prescription? Maybe, I wouldn't count on it, but certainly worth a try.

- Could she sign up for health insurance in the USA get the prescription and then cancel the insurance? She "could", but that would be more expensive that just getting the prescription filled.

- Should we just wait till after Dec. as she is visiting me again and we will both be in Canada. Why? Check the prices in Canada. She is not Canadian, so she won't get it free.

- Are the drugs in Mexico remotely safe and worth the drive there (my guess is NO!!) I have no personal experience with them, but I have talked to a couple of people who have no problems with the Mexican drugs (inhalers).I'm open to all intelligent suggestions. :)

I hope this has helped at least a little.

[JohnnyLaRue]

Much thanks Sue-Z-Q. . :)

 

I assumed since I got my non-Russian prescription filled in Russia it would be a two way street.

 

Why? Check the prices in Canada. She is not Canadian, so she won't get it free.

Cause I am Canadian and when I go back home we can go to the drugstore and she can get the drug cheaper at a CDN pharmacy (under 100 bucks CDN). But I currently reside in Cali at the moment.

 

And in Cook County they just give vaccines to anybody with a child that asks, here you have to prove that you are a resident to pay for them???

In CA any yahoo can go to the free clinic. Legal citizen or not.

[Rockfordmom]

 

In CA any yahoo can go to the free clinic. Legal citizen or not.

I was used to free immunizations and no questions and when we moved here and I went to get them for my children (our insurance only paid $200 for immunizations per year which used up in 1 visit) I was not only surprised that there was a charge but that I had to prove that we were residents and that the kids were mine... Now the insurance pays $300 per year for immunizations which covers like 2 visits.

[AndreaInNC]

Here is what is out there about "generic" Stattera.

 

Until the patent for Strattera expires in 2017, a generic version of Strattera cannot be manufactured. Products currently sold as "generic Strattera" are fake, substandard, and potentially dangerous. You should not buy any generic Strattera drug until an approved generic is available. Once Strattera goes off patent, there may be several companies that manufacture a generic form of the medicine.