Patients Face Cutoff of Cheaper Prescriptions from Canada

For Eliquis, a 90-day supply of 180 5-milligram pills cost $565 through a Canadian pharmacy, compared with $1,017 through Amazon Pharmacy and $1,029 through GoodRx, according to the study.

Paul Pruitt, co-founder of Missouri-based SHARx, which helps employers and health plans source lower-cost prescription drugs, said the new requirements could make it harder for patients to obtain medications from abroad.

Pruitt said the process could require consumers to register as importers of record, work with a logistics provider and obtain a customs bond. It’s an administrative burden that could be especially difficult for patients unfamiliar with customs procedures. Pruitt said packages that fail to meet the requirements could be returned to the sender or destroyed.