With the recent debate over health care in the United States, many people may have finally realized that prescription medications can be found for much cheaper prices in other parts of the world.  Canada prescription drugs, for example, can be bought online a Canadian pharmacy for a much cheaper price than what you pay in a US pharmacy.  Some of the more popular prescription medications, such as Diovan or Lipitor, can be found in the US for around $75 to $85 for a 30 day supply, whereas the costs in Canada are around $40 to $50.  So why are people able to get Canada prescription drugs online at a much cheaper cost than what they pay in the US?

There are actually several different reasons for why you can find Canada prescription medications at a much cheaper price than what you will end up paying in the United States.  One reason has to do with the fact that government officials place a cap on how much pharmaceutical companies can charge for pharmacies when they buy their drugs.  This significantly lowers the wholesale price of medications by around five percent for most companies that need to purchase them.  The prices that can be charged for various Canada prescription medications are determined and put into place by their Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.  With pharmacies paying less for the drugs, these lower costs are then passed on to the consumer.

In addition to government regulations on the prices of Canada prescription drugs, something else that helps make them cheaper in Canada than the US are the various drug formularies found in each Canadian province.  These drug formularies have their own rules and regulations restricting the use of new and expensive medicines.  They have the power to negotiate the prices of newer Canada prescription medications with the drug companies due to having many seniors, who make up a lot of the drug purchases in the provinces.  If the drug companies want to see their medications listed on the formularies, they will have to consider lowering their prices.

Another factor that causes drug prices to be higher in the US has to do with a difference between US and Canadian citizens.  Since US citizens would be more likely to sue a drug maker than Canadian residents, the drug companies have no choice but to price the medications higher in the States.  You can find Canada prescription medications cheaper because of this seemingly higher liability.