Unless reform becomes a reality, most Americans can expect to pay health insurance premiums that will double by 2016, said the Public Interest Research Group.

“As costs rise, one out of three American’s health-care dollars are going to waste and inefficiency,” said report co-author Larry C. McNeely, who noted a major problem was inflated drug prices.

The report said U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers spend more than US$11.5 billion annually on marketing prescription drugs.

“You saw virtually no debate on that issue as the [presidential] campaign progressed,” said Bruce Merlin Fried, a partner in Sonnenschein Nath &Rosenthal, LLP’s National Health Care and Public Law & Policy Strategies groups.

The same reasons that led former HHS Sec. Donna Shalala in the Clinton administration not to move toward drug importation still exist today, he added. “The concern then and now [is] the difficulty in assuring the safety and efficacy of a drug that purports to be a reimportation,” Fried told the Dec. 9 AIS audioconference.

“If anything, the problems that we’ve seen in China with tainted drugs and products probably will put an end to that,” he said. “The drug companies themselves, if confronting reimportation, would use their market strategies in other countries to preclude any meaningful reimportation. I just don’t think this is going to go anywhere.”

With drug reimportation moving off the political agenda US citizens that want to access lower overseas drug prices face risks associated with buying drugs online. In the current environment, and it seems now into the future, independent Pharmacy Accreditation sites like Pharmacy Checker (www.PharmacyChecker.com) are an essential first stop for anyone proposing to shop online to get lower drug prices.

The two most common Internet purchases are anti-inflammatory drugs and products to treat heart worm both of which are available on www.MedStoreInternational.com .

What the FDA does not point out is that genuine products are also sold on the Internet and they are always at significantly lower prices. So while animal owners should first seek professional advice they do not have to buy the treatments from their veterinarians. Why is it that vets sell these products anyway? Doctors do not sell prescription drugs.

Because some animal owners have self diagnosed and then treated their animals incorrectly does not create a strong case for condemning Internet pharmacy for pet meds. Taking a position supported only by extreme examples is the weakest form of argument on any issue.

Many thinly disguised, self interested lobby groups argue from extremes against Internet pharmacy for human health products. They drag out the same (very few) horror stories associated with purchasing drugs online and use these to condemn online pharmacy altogether. They present worst case problems but fail to acknowledge the the millions of satisfied customers who save billions of dollars annually by using online pharmacies for themselves and their pets.

The FDA also warns against online pharmacy for human health products, but that to be expected. It’s the FDA’s role to protect the unwary against harm. However as long as there are ways to verify that online pharmacies have genuine pharmacies and pharmacists behind them, online pharmacy has a strong role to play in providing affordable health care products to consumers.

Pharmacy Checker confirms that savings are available from online pharmacies both within the US and offshore. However an analysis of the top ten pharmaceutical brands sold in the USA in 2007 shows that the average saving offered by a US online pharmacies was 19% whereas it was over 70% was if the same products were bought from and international online pharmacy.

This should be of interest to the 47 million Americans who are uninsured and the 25 million who are underinsured. Even those with drug coverage can face exorbitant co-pays to get the products they want. Some studies have shown that people without drug coverage can skip doses, stop taking medication altogether, or switch to less expensive (and less effective) OTC alternatives.

Anyone with access to a computer should be able buy quality brand and generic drugs from online pharmacies with confidence. There are still many rogue pharmacy websites which must be avoided, however consumers can have confidence in online pharmacies that have been checked and verified by a recognized 3^rd party accreditation agency like Pharmacy Checker. While it is not technically legal for Americans to import drugs by placing an order with an overseas online pharmacy, the FDA has adopted a policy of not intercepting prescription drug imports for personal use, so long as the supply is for 90 days or less and does not include controlled drugs.

This is why the President Elect will be focusing on all areas of the US health care system, including the high cost of medicines compared to the rest of the western world. Obama has made it clear that he wants a health care system that is affordable and is accessible to everyone.

Pharmaceutical business analysts believe that Obama’s win will mean that there will be a change in policy to allow for the re-importation of many drugs. This may also include speeding up regulatory pathway for bio-generics. Although bio-generics are already manufactured in Europe and India, there is no pathway for regulatory approval in the U.S., which is stalling their introduction into the lucrative U.S. market.

Manthei also thinks there will be more achieved in the health care focused committees in the Senate with Sen. Hillary Clinton now able to focus on these issues without the distraction of presidential campaign. This has effectively taken her away from health where she has tremendous interest and expertise.

With “President Obama” will come a serious discussion about socializing the nations drug supply. The current system simply is not working with American expenditure per head on healthcare double the amount in Britain and a large part of that is related to the cost of drugs.

On average, for the same drug, an Americans pays twice as much as someone in the UK. While American insurers pick up a great deal of the bill the lack of efficiency is a problem. Despite the insurance system, over 45% of healthcare costs are carried by the American taxpayer.

According to polls, healthcare costs are a bigger issue than Iraq for most Americans, hardly surprising given that it affects a greater number. Many pensioners fly to Canada in search of cheaper prescription medicine while others use the Internet to access online pharmacies most of which offer drugs from other countries at much lower prices. In his campaigning Senator Obama said he supported drug imports but he also wants to fix the underlying problems causing the price disparity that exist between America and other countries

Of course the drug giants argue that without their US profits, research and development of new medicines will slow. It is true that the industry reinvests more of its sales revenue than most back into R&D however its problem is that innovative drugs with high sales potential are simply not emerging.

A McCain campaign spokesperson said McCain understands the need to have a properly documented prescription drug supply chain. McCain would require all medications from other nations to “meet state and federal standards for safety. This would require additional funds to ensure the safety of such medications. FDA Director Janet Woodcock said that the agency would require $225 million in additional funds to inspect such medications (CQ HealthBeat, 10/27).

All products listed on www.MedStoreInternational.com are from developed western countries with strong drug regulatory agencies and/or from FDA approved manufacturing facilities.

The new law requires online pharmacies to comply with laws of the state in which they do business. It also allows federal agencies to provide web hosts with lists of legally approved online pharmacies. This information allows web hosting companies to more quickly identify illegal online pharmacies.

As of October 2008, NABP has assessed more than 1,000 Internet drug outlets and these are listed on the NABP Web site, www.nabp.net/ip.asp. However the number of visits to online pharmacies is on the rise. The report cites 99,000 visitors to Internet drug outlets by the second quarter of 2008, compared to 32,000 visitors by the same time last year.

So how do shoppers ensure the are dealing with and online pharmacy that is safe and secure? The FDA advises people to use Internet pharmacies that are accredited through the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program. However this accreditation is only available to US pharmacies so the savings that shoppers are looking for will probably not be available at these online pharmacies.

A site that does verify both US and non US online pharmacies is Pharmacy Checker (www.PharmacyChecker.com). The Pharmacy Checker verification program is available to online pharmacy sites worldwide. Established in 2003, it helps consumers find online pharmacies that sells prescription drugs dispensed from a licensed pharmacy in good standing.