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Leaving aside the cost of health insurance, drug costs in the US are consistently higher than in Canada
By: Ish Theilheimer and the Straight Goods team
Canadians have a big advantage over Americans when it comes to drug costs. As part of our two-week Greener Grass series, Straight Goods compared drug prices in Canada and the United States, and found that there may be no other consumer item with a greater price spread between the two countries.
The difference is noticeable for cosmetics, first-aid supplies, and over-the-counter items. For instance, no-name ibuprofen that cost $4.99 CDN in Vancouver comes in at $10.13 CDN in Seattle, where most prices for consumer goods are lower than Vancouver. Most non-prescription items cost about the same in both cities, apparently.
Prescription drugs are a whole other story. We have found in recent surveys that Pembroke in rural Ontario and Traverse City/Northport in rural Michigan compare fairly evenly for most consumer items. Yet the same shopping list of common prescription drugs that seniors might need is much cheaper in Ontario. The same drugs that cost $318.21US or $461.40 CDN in Michigan cost just $256.68 CDN ($177.11 US) in Ontario - eighty percent more in the US.
While some US prescription drugs are close in price to Canadian drugs, others are in a whole different league. A 100-capsule bottle of Nitrofur, for instance, costs twice as much in US funds ($71.84) as it costs in Pembroke in Canadian funds ($35.97). Factor in exchange rates, and the difference is staggering.
Mohsin Merali at Killaloe's Village Pharmacy says the difference is easy to explain. "In Canada, government regulates the costs of drugs, and companies have to abide by costs. Generics compete with each other to get best price.
"In the States, you have no such limitation, they pit one person against another. The insurance companies are fragmented, people are fragmented." The ironic effect of the wide-open "competition" in the US is to drive prices up.
Furthermore, the domination of private health insurance companies in the US has tended to make every prescription an "insurance job." That's why there's been a growing number of Americans coming to Canada for prescriptions. This is no easy thing, because they need Canadian physicians to sign prescriptions in order to buy in Canada. But Merali, isolated as he is in the Ottawa Valley, has at least one American customer, a Texan, who saves himself $700 every year buying drugs in Killaloe instead of Texas. Go figure.
The bottom line for Canadians: The US is an exciting place to visit, but please don't get sick there. And bring your meds when you travel, or you might be in for a nasty surprise.
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Typical senior’s prescription drug shopping list |
Discount drug mart, Traverse City, MI
(US prices) |
Small drug store, Killaloe, ON
(CDN prices) |
|
Comivent inhaler b.i. |
37.70 |
31.62 |
|
k-dur 20 med tabs 60 |
33.00 |
28.40 |
|
Furosemide lasix 40mg tab 60 |
8.88 |
11.19 |
|
Prednisone 5mg tab 52 |
8.83 |
10.93 |
|
Synthroxine 0.125 m 30 |
8.88 |
12.05 |
|
Amoxicillanamoxil 500mg 30 |
10.66 |
16.50 |
|
Nitrofur 100mg 100 |
71.84 |
35.34 |
|
Trazodone 50mg 100 |
19.41 |
35.97 |
|
Ibuprofen 600mg 200 |
24.43 |
20.10 |
|
Premarin 1.25mg 100 |
68.59 |
35.70 |
|
Medroxypr 2.5mg 100 |
25.99 |
18.88 |
|
Totals |
318.21 US
(461.40 CDN) |
256.68 CDN
(177.11 US) |
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Item in CDN and US prices |
Montreal |
New York
NY |
|
Box of Kleenex facial tissues, CDN |
1.99 |
2.45 |
|
Box of Kleenex facial tissues, US |
1.37 |
1.69 |
|
|
100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), CDN |
7.69/5.99 |
8.07/ - |
|
100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), US |
5.30/4.13 |
5.57/ - |
|
|
100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), CDN |
7.67/4.99 |
8.10/ - |
|
100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), US |
5.29/3.44 |
5.59/ - |
|
Item in CDN and US prices |
Pembroke
ON |
Northport
MI |
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100 tablets (500mg.) vitamin C, CDN |
4.55 |
8.39 |
|
100 tablets (500mg.) vitamin C, US |
3.13 |
5.79 |
|
|
100 tablets children's multiple vitamins, CDN |
7.49 |
14.50 |
|
100 tablets children's multiple vitamins, US |
5.16 |
10.00 |
|
|
Band-aid brand regular size bandages, CDN |
- |
4.04 |
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Band-aid brand regular size bandages, US |
- |
2.79 |
|
|
Box of Kleenex facial tissues, CDN |
1.09 |
1.58 |
|
Box of Kleenex facial tissues, US |
0.75 |
1.09 |
|
|
Box of Vicks cough drops, CDN |
0.99 |
2.01 |
|
Box of Vicks cough drops, US |
0.68 |
1.39 |
|
|
100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), CDN |
9.50/4.19 |
11.58/7.52 |
|
100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), US |
6.55/2.89 |
7.99/5.19 |
|
|
100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), CDN |
6.77/2.99 |
10.87/5.07 |
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100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), US |
4.67/2.06 |
7.50/3.50 |
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Item in CDN and US prices |
Vancouver
BC |
Seattle
WA |
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100 tablets (500mg.) vitamin C, CDN |
7.79 |
11.15 |
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100 tablets (500mg.) vitamin C, US |
5.37 |
7.69 |
|
|
100 tablets children's multiple vitamins, CDN |
8.78 |
5.78 |
|
100 tablets children's multiple vitamins, US |
6.05 |
3.99 |
|
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Band-aid brand regular size bandages, CDN |
3.79 |
3.46 |
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Band-aid brand regular size bandages, US |
2.61 |
2.39 |
|
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Box of Kleenex facial tissues, CDN |
1.59 |
- |
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Box of Kleenex facial tissues, US |
1.09 |
- |
|
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Box of Vicks cough drops, CDN |
0.99 |
1.00 |
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Box of Vicks cough drops, US |
0.68 |
0.69 |
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100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), CDN |
9.89/4.99 |
13.03/10.13 |
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100 tablets ibuprofen (brand/no-name), US |
6.82/3.44 |
8.99/6.99 |
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100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), CDN |
6.79/3.68 |
10.86/4.91 |
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100 tablets acetaminophen (brand/no-name), US |
4.68/2.53 |
7.49/3.39 |
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