Caravan of Americans crossing the Canadian border in search of affordable medical care

[G_j]

https://www.newsweek.com/caravan-americans-crossing-canadian-border-get-affordable-medical-care-1417582

A 'CARAVAN' OF AMERICANS IS CROSSING THE CANADIAN BORDER TO GET AFFORDABLE MEDICAL CARE

BY CHANTAL DA SILVA ON 5/7/19 AT 7:04 AM EDT

A "caravan" of Americans living with Type 1 diabetes made its way across the U.S. border into Canada over the weekend in search of affordable medical care in a country where they can get the "exact same" life-saving drugs for a dramatically lower price.

"We're on a #CaravanToCanada because the USA charges astronomical prices for insulin that most people can't afford," tweeted caravan member Quinn Nystrom as she shared updates on the journey.

Nystrom was among a group of Minnesotans who piled into cars on Friday to make the 600-mile journey from the Twin Cities to Fort Frances, Ontario, where she said insulin, the hormone patients with Type 1 Diabetes rely on to regulate their blood glucose levels, can be bought for a tenth of what it costs in the U.S.

The caravan was organized as part of a campaign launched under the banner "#insulinforall" to call on the U.S. government to regulate the cost of life-saving drugs, including insulin, and make medication affordable for anyone who needs it.

..more..

[BigmanPigman]

1. In San Diego we go down to Mexico.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. That includes The Asshole Extraordinaire -- Rand Paul!

[SoCalDem]

3. I have 4 unopened bottles of Lantus in my fridge

My husband's meds arrived 2 says before he died.. Everyone I have asked here uses Humalin..

I looked it up and that stuff is EXPENSIVE.. One bottle expires in June..the others in OCT..The pharmacy would not take it back

[Mariana]

8. Someone near here has sold Lantus on Craigslist

I bought some of it from her for my cat.

[SoCalDem]

9. I thought it was illegal to sell meds

[Mariana]

12. It's illegal to sell some meds for sure.

Lantus isn't a controlled substance, though, and I have no idea whether it's illegal to sell it. I just checked Craigslist and found six listings within 100 miles of me, for various types of insulin, in three different states.

[SoCalDem]

13. Thanks.. I'll check it here..

[Mariana]

14. Good luck.

Even if you give it away, that's better than tossing it out. Maybe you can find someone with a diabetic cat who needs it. My cat died in January, but he had a long and comfortable life because I was able to get Lantus for a reasonable price.

I'm so sorry about your husband.

[MurrayDelph]

4. The only thing keeping me from a Canada trip is available time.

I take one medicine that, with prescription, is $23 for a two-week supply for the generic.

I'm in northern Oregon.

The last time I was in Canada, the name brand version of the drug was sold over the counter for $12/CAD (which at current exchange rates is $8.90/USD, call it $10 when you throw in sales tax).

It's a 5-hour drive each way to the nearest pharmacy across the border (There is one within a couple of clicks, apparently for the med-tourist business).

In my Prius, the gas would cost me $40 (at today's prices). After three tubes, the trip pays for itself (and that's including the cost for some Tim Horton's).

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Have you priced your prescription on Goodrx.com?

I swear by that site, and ones similar to it.
I was prescribed a drug that costs 2,000 a month, cancer related medication, and got it with the goodrx coupon for
$23.00 a month. My oncologist even wrote 2 prescriptions, I took one to one place and the other to another pharmacy, filled both once a month, just to stock up on the damn pills before anything could get in the way of getting them cheaply. Apparently it is legal to do this as long as the script is not for a controlled substance.
Obviously I saved a fortune, having no drug insurance.
Seriously, no joke...that price was that low, and I have used the site for other prescriptions, saving big bucks.

My 2nd option would have been to mail order from Canada, and now, this year, I have friends in Mexico who assure me many drugs are available there for pennies, all I have to do is send the script.

Had to stop taking that drug, but I am keeping my options open for any future need.

[MurrayDelph]

10. It was worth a try. Thanks,

but the only pharmacies that were cheaper were only so for a buck, and are more than 50 miles away.

Instead, my wife suggested that since the dog sitter has already arrived (in anticipation of my wife going to the hospital next week for a procedure her insurance won't cover [fuck you Marco Rubio]), we're going to say in some Hilton miles and go check out the Richmond Night Market, near Vancouver Airport.

[Honeycombe8]

5. Is that legal (in Canadian law)?

I hope so, because advertising it like that is sure going to get the law to go looking for them.

That's what I'd do, if I live up there.

[OnlinePoker]

6. So, Americans will end up forcing us Canadians to pay a higher cost because of less supply here

There are already people here that can't afford their meds (1 in 10 as of 2017) and either cut back on dosage to stretch it out or forgo the meds altogether. Meanwhile, we have unscrupulous doctors here that co-sign American prescriptions, as mandated by law or they can't be filled (for a fee, of course) without ever seeing the patient, something deemed completely unethical by every provincial health code.

[MurrayDelph]

11. You ok with

Americans buying over-the-counter drugs (that need a prescription in the US)?

[dalton99a]

15. Kick

[ck4829]

16. Meanwhile, Trump calls losing a billion dollars "a sport"