Meds from Indian?

[olivermb]

Hi Everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone can share with me (privately or to the forum) their experiences with getting meds from India. I've been having problems.

When I ordered, the online form didn't work for credit cards. Then I talked with someone over the phone. Then I got a verification call from my bank. When I looked at my order status online at the Indian company, it said there was a problem with the payment. I called the company, and they told me that their payment was denied.

So I just called my credit card and they said that potentially fraudulent payment was coming out of Korea, and it was for an amount that differed from the meds. They had no record of the Indian company trying to make a payment.

So.... at this point, no meds, the Indian company says my credit card was denied, there's someone from Korea trying to get funds. I just canceled my credit card, which is a hassle.

Anybody have any good experiences with this?

Thanks

M.

[tex]

Mary,

I'm sorry that happened. Many members here have bought from that source with no problems whatsoever. Based on what happened, I wonder if your computer may have a "virus", "worm", or some other data-mining program that hijacked your credit card information and relayed it to another site, instead. The fact that the amount of the attempted charge was different (and the data never reached the correct site) certainly suggests that might be what happened. Your credit card bank correctly denied payment to the Korean site, but of course, that throws a monkey wrench into the process of buying anything over the internet, for a while at least, and if the integrity of your computer has been corrupted, that certainly needs to be corrected, ASAP.

Many computer service companies, office supply companies, etc., will scan your computer and remove such problems, for a fee of course, or you can download programs that will allow you to do it yourself. Some services can do a better job than you can do yourself, because they can afford to buy the best software for the job. If you need some URLs where you can download reliable and free programs to scan your computer for such issues, please let me know and I will post them.

Tex

[marg]

Have you ordered meds before from India? I would be very careful, especially after seeing the latest news today about Prozac ordered from India being tainted with crystal meths among other things, the report showed the packaging was very flimsy wrapped in cling film and cardboard, personally I would only ever order from a reputable company, sorry this dosent answer your original question but thought it may be a warning.
Marg.

[olivermb]

Thanks all.

I'm certain that I don't have a virus on the machine, as I have a very current, active, firewalled, and administratively locked access. It's something that my university requires. I've also used this credit card online since the time I ordered.

I hadn't heard anything about the prozak thing. Wow.

I was just getting desperate to get some help. My GI won't return calls, I've had a pain in the same spot in my side since my colonoscopy almost two weeks ago, I just learned that they ordered the wrong test for my blood work that I need to redo, and then the doctor's office has the courtesy to actually phone me just to inform me that my GI is charging $24 for completing the family medical leave act form that my uni requires, and that I need to drive over there in person to pay for it because they wouldn't take payment otherwise. I honestly don't know what to do. I've tried to see another GI in town, and when they learn that I've seen this one, they say that I'm under his care and they won't see me. I am at my wits end.

I honestly think that there was specific damage done during this colonoscopy. I would love to know how I could find this out. I think this is something caused during this procedure.

Thanks all,

M

[coryhub]

Dear M,

I would make an appointment with a second GI to see if you can get a script for Entocort which I have found to be the best meds for getting my LC under control. The first time I paid $150 for 3 months worth, then I found a drug store for $125. and now the generic is only costing me $20 for a 90 day supply. I'm sorry to hear that you had trouble ordering from the India site. It was a good source for potty people while it lasted. Thankfully your credit card company caught that a Korean site was perpetrating a scam on the India site. I never purchased from the India site because when I told my dad (he is 88) that I was going online to order from there, he sent me the $150, bless his soul. He was worried about the possibility of me getting tainted drugs.

~C

[olivermb]

OMG, I just checked prices and, with my insurance, it would be about $600 for 3 months at 3/3mg a day for the generic. I can't believe this. How could there be such a difference? I'm pricing this via medco.com. My god, maybe I need to start looking into alternatives.

[brandy]

Hi M.

The pricing on Entocort and the generic is quirky in the US. I have United Healthcare and first at walgreens I was quoted $3200.00. After about 15 minutes of the clerk plugging in numbers on the keyboard I ended up paying $30.00 for a 6 week supply of the generic. The whole thing was kind of weird because I think I was prescribed Entocort and somehow I ended up with the generic. You may have to do some face to face time at several of the chains.

Brandy

[olivermb]

Hi Brandy et al.,

Okay, here's a question. My insurance covers 80% of meds. Can you guys tell me if this is generally how much you're charged? I just can't believe that there's such a HUGE difference. I don't know, I don't know. I'm so flipping discouraged these days. I'm sorry to be a bummer. But I don't know where to turn now. Any help or advice would be so appreciated.

Thank you.

M

[DebE13]

Mine costs around $1,200 for 90. I only pay $5 out of pocket. So if I bring up the cost to Walgreens, they'll drop the price? It's ridiculous what it costs! No wonder insurance premiums are so high.

[Leah]

I pay $20 a month for Generic, but every coverage is different. Didn't Tex mention ( somewhere) that you could also order it from Canada?

I don't quite understand why you can't find another GI who will take you if you are dissatisfied with your current care..... or maybe you can approach it as getting a second opinion??????

So sorry you are feeling so horrible. I hope you get some relief soon.

Leah

[olivermb]

Thanks guys. I have clue why I can't get another GI. All of the GIs in town are in one of three places (e.g., Geisinger, Hospital, etc.). When I call the places other than where my GI is, they say that I am already being treated, and therefore won't see me.

I'm going to try to call my insurance tomorrow. I want to see what other people are paying for these meds so that I can have some type of argument for it. It's just ridiculous. I don't understand why it's so expensive here and not in other countries. I further don't understand why my insurance stinks so very much. I'm afraid that this is a discussion that is only in the very beginning stages -- I am tenacious, that's for sure.

Thanks so much. Any and all insights are appreciated. I saw on another forum a bunch of people with MC just suffering through everything because the meds were beyond their ability to pay. This is just an awful, unjust, ridiculous thing. Big pharma is the devil.

[Gloria]

The meds from Canada come from India. A few members have ordered from both places and the capsule and packaging are the same.

I'm facing a similar dilemma now that I'm getting Medicare prescription coverage. Even though we're still using United Health Care, the cost/coverage is completely different under Medicare. I used to pay $50 for 270 pills; now the cost is much, much higher. They are going through a transition to another supplier, so I can't give the exact price right now.

Gloria

[tex]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I've read that most generic drugs sold in this country by the major drug companies are made in India (at Sun Pharma). For a drug such as budesonide, for example, the U. S. prices amount to a markup of something in the range of 3,000 to 4,000%, when compared with the retail price at Alldaychemist in India. The biggest drug price increases have occurred in just the last couple of years (since the passage of the infamous Health Care Reform Bill). Clearly, the Administration made a deal with Big Pharma (and probably the insurance companies as well) in order to get their support, which was needed to get the bill passed.

Tex

[Rosie]

Gloria (and all those on Medicare), I'm a volunteer Certified Medicare Counselor for the SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program), the Medicare outreach program, and want to respond. If you are on a Supplement style plan which requires a separate stand-alone prescription drug plan, or on a Medicare Advantage Plan which includes drug coverage, you can check and easily find out which plans have the cheapest cost for Entocort and any other drugs you take. Just go to the medicare.gov web site, click on the big yellow button near the top "Find Health and Drug Plans". You put in your ZIP code, some other information, and your prescriptions, and it pulls up all the plans available in your ZIP code and allows you to sort them based on overall cost, both retail pharmacy and mail order. It's a great site, as it pulls together all of the pieces, like premium costs, costs of co-pays and deductibles, and costs in the coverage gap to give you an overall cost to compare.

For example, I put in my ZIP code, put Entocort EC (generic version) in my drug list, and pulled up the 30 individual drug plans in my area. While I don't have time to go into all the details, I discovered that about 14 of the 30 drug plans had a mail order option that was about 1/4 the cost of getting it a pharmacy. Taking the best drug plan as an example, the total yearly cost (including premium, deductibles and co-pays) for the full dose of 90 pills a month was $5265 at a retail pharmacy, but only $1010 by mail order. The most expensive plan was $6041 per year, with no mail order option. So it really pays to check.

The 14 Advantage Plans available in my ZIP code had the same variation. Some had very good coverage for Entocort, while others were much higher. The cheapest yearly cost for Entocort was $896.

Of course as Gloria discovered, the caveat is that the drug plans can change their prices at any time based on the cost passed on from their suppliers, or changing suppliers, and we have no protection over that.

The plans can change substantially from one year to the next, so it is good to check each year. The Annual Enrollment Period, which is the only time to change plans (except for a few exceptions), is Oct. 15 to Dec 7 effective on Jan 1, 2013. The web site provides contact information for the plans, and you can also enroll on line.

For comparison, the cost of ordering from alldaychemist is $4.50/10 pills, which adds up to $486 per year for the full dose of 90 pills a month. Shipping is about $25. Assuming you order 3 months worth at a time, it adds $100 for a total cost of $586/year.

Each state has a Medicare SHIP program, and you can check to see if individual, in-person help is available near you. Also, some pharmacies will check for you on the Medicare web site. If you got a Supplement Plan or an Advantage Plan through an insurance agent, they should be willing to do this for you too, as a service to their clients. I am also willing to help Potty People, if you want to pm me.

So the good news is that if you are able to check around, you should be able to find reasonable coverage for Entocort.

Rosie

[coryhub]

Thank you Rosie for this useful information. I have printed it out as I will be retiring in a few years and am already starting to collect such information. I hope this URL helps our friend Mary find something affordable.