Prescription drugs cheaper in Canada, but be wary of suppliers
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY
I seem to recall reading on your website about a reliable Canadian site from which to get less-expensive and legitimate prescription drugs. I am in the Part D "doughnut hole," [the period where Medicare drug coverage stops before kicking in again if costs go high enough], and a 90-day supply of my Actos is more than $500.
We found that in the U.S., the diabetes drug Actos might run from $570 to $692 for a three-month supply. In Canada it could cost between $161 and $382 -- significant savings.
When people enter the dreaded doughnut hole in their Medicare Part D prescription plan, they must pay 100% of the medication costs. Buying from Canada can help, but caution is necessary. Some sites that claim to be Canadian aren't. Medicare participants spending more than $4,050 out of pocket become eligible for catastrophic coverage. If your bills will be a lot more than that, you should probably continue buying medicine in the U.S.
Here in Hawaii, we call head lice "ukus." We've had quite a problem with them this year, and I have found the anti-lice medication costly and ineffective. I'm glad you wrote about Listerine. We tried it, and it worked.
Many lice treatments have lost effectiveness. Alcohol and other ingredients in Listerine may help kill lice. One mother described saturating the scalp with Listerine, covering hair with a shower cap for two hours then combing out the dead lice.
Reach Joe Graedon, a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedon, an expert in medical anthropology and nutrition, at www.peoplespharmacy.com or in care of this newspaper.
