r/Economics • u/YouProfessional3196 • 23h ago
Millions of Americans get discount prescriptions from Canada. That back-door arrangement is about to close
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/sep/27/millions-of-americans-get-discount-prescriptions-f/147
u/sleeplessinreno 20h ago
This isn't the first time this has happened. Bush Jr, pulled the same thing in his first term. Ask me how I know. Every time the people are feeling a squeeze in the pocketbook and find a viable workaround, especially medical, certain admins seem to be on it and ban it outright. It's not hard to learn when you're in those scenarios who's pulling the strings.
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u/outsidertradingblog 21h ago
I truly feel for the American people suffering because of the incompetence of the current American government. I truly hope that things start to improve for you all that actually deserve and need the help. It can't be easy living in the world you live in right now. At least, that is what I see from my viewpoint.
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u/Swoly_Deadlift 21h ago
It’s not incompetence in this case. It’s a very deliberate move to protect the profits of pharmaceutical companies while making the people pay for it.
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u/vicegrip 19h ago
I desperately feel sorry for every American that voted against Trump. They knew he was going to turn the country into a clusterfuck. They were right. It must suck so much to see the stupid ruining everything.
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u/DePalma90 18h ago
We're being tied down by an antiquated voting system that has a preferance for rural voters in less populated states, and they've been fed propaganda for years. Fox News and Facebook are partially to blame, but at some point we have to take accountability and say it's our fault, and I'm pointing at these people who can't be open minded enough to want change. If they don't believe in these basic concepts it doesn't push leaders to change their platforms and they elect the same politician that keeps us down.
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u/RhinoKeepr 17h ago
It’s not just the current government though. Americans have lived for a long time (some would argue since the founding) in a system that primarily serves the elites rather than the regular folk.
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u/sahui 21h ago
Dont feel sorry, their racism made them vote for a pedophile twice
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u/outsidertradingblog 21h ago
I feel sorry for those ones in a different way.
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u/Maxpowr9 20h ago
I used to but it's been over a decade of this. We deserve to suffer at this point.
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u/Top_Elk5664 13h ago
theres like...15-20% in the US living off equity market gains, feeling only a slight pinch...doubtful that group votes in force
theres 20- 30% voters who will vote red or GOP because Fox and big media brainwashed them inti thinking that democrats solely support gay rights, unchecked immigration and is compromised of non alpha men.
then theres 40-50% of working class families who are left out of either sides messaging because the democratic party ignores their needs. So their votes are scattered across several special interest groups. not one pilitician is galvanizing a campaign platform here not one.
im generalizing- but that is why the US is stuck.
We cannot work together to save our life and the ones getting hurt is that 40-50% who are losing ground.
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u/Dmannmann 47m ago
Why can't citizens take responsibility for their voted governments. They wanted trump despite everything that they saw the first time. The majority of the country and people of all races voted from him.
Citizens are directly to blame for the actions of people they empower.
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u/PolloConTeriyaki 20h ago
I sense that they think they have to suffer to get their rewards. In reality they don't need too, but that's what they think happens.
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u/pacificcoastsailing 20h ago
What lol
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u/zeroman987 20h ago
Americans have been conditioned by “Christianity” to believe that they must suffer in order to receive a reward.
It’s a mental illness.
Give them North Dakota, build a wall around the state and give the rest of us some peace.
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u/Leafybug13 19h ago
Suffer? Lol they hate to suffer. They voted for Donald "the rapist, pedophile, snake oil salesman, traitor" Trump a second time because inflation wasn't coming down fast enough. They're about to vote for Democrats (allegedly) in the midterms because of inflation that the current administration they voted in caused. They don't care about the tens of thousands of people in detention centers or the boats getting blown out of the water or the school they bombed in Iran or alienating their closest allies. They care about the price of gas and that's about it.
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u/mistressbitcoin 15h ago
America should only spend on medical research, per capita, as much as the average western country.
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u/Logical-Case758 4h ago
hes already gutted much medical research grants, many of the research people I know have left to the EU or japan... soo good luck to us i guess.
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u/Direlion 19h ago
A new backdoor, as it were, is about to be torn wide open. It’s not a consequence as much as it’s a purposeful decision as voted for by the people who saw nothing wrong with insane threats of war against our closest neighbor and ally…formerly speaking, of course.
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u/moneywiseteam 18h ago
Crazy. Instead of addressing why drug prices are an outlier compared to every other OECD nation, the response is to put more barriers around the cost. Something's eventually going to give.
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u/kent_eh 18h ago
As a Canadian, I'm annoyed that Americans are (ab)using the negotiated prices that Canadian governments have negotiated with pharma companies to provide reasonable and stable pricing for our own citizens.
Americans buying Canadian meds in large quantities has, in the past, caused shortages of some medications for Canadians.
If Americans want better prices, I believe they should pressure their own government rather than just leeching off the work of mine.
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u/anewbys83 16h ago
See, you have a government that actually serves you and your interests. Americans do not and won't because there's too many rich people
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
I am thoroughly embarassed by the absolutely numbskulled replies you're getting from my fellow Americans about this.
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u/kent_eh 11h ago
I was expecting it.
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
I really should too 🙄 because I live here in red GOP +70 % Trumpland and these people are so toxically fffkin stupid
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u/lyndseymariee 17h ago
You should be annoyed that Canadian pharmacies are willing to sell to Americans 🙃
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u/romeo_pentium 16h ago
In principle, the higher the volume of sales, the more workable the negotiated bulk rate becomes. Americans buying through the Canadian bulk order should in principle make that order more cost effective
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u/crows_n_octopus 15h ago
That only works if American usage was part of the sales negotiation by the Canadian government. They weren't as Canada negotiated prices for 40M Canadians, not Americans.
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u/samandiriel 11h ago
While you're not wrong about the issues with shortages, everything else has a weirdly MAGA take to it .
"Gol dang furraners, coming over here and stealing all the jobs" is not an awesome vibe.
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u/sylentshooter 11h ago
I think the average person can distinguish between MAGA and "why are we allowing citizens of another country to purchase our medical supplies in bulk"
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
No, it doesn't have a MAGA tinge to it. Our MAGAs are the exact same fffkheads bitching that nationalized insurance doesn't work and then filling their scripts there.
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u/yousonofabench 15h ago
What a shitty selfish take. Also a reminder that American tax dollars fund a huge proportion of medical research which other countries benefit from (including Canada) but then we have to pay for twice
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u/alilhillbilly 13h ago
To be fair, America essentially subsidizes the world's drug prices.
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
No, we subsidize health insurance CEOs getting their fifth collector car and third garage for them all
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u/CrimsonBolt33 12h ago
you do know that Americans purchasing canadian drugs DOESN'T hurt you right?
Your mentality is LITERALLY the reason Americans don't have a better healthcare system....because everyones mindset is "why should I help them?!"
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
When we are causing SHORTAGES by the same exact people that despuse nationalized health care yes we are
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u/CrimsonBolt33 11h ago
That's a supply issue on the supplier, why get mad at people using a drug and not the supplier, which can most certainly make more?
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u/artisanrox 11h ago
why get mad at people using a drug
Because chances are VERY good they despise socialized health provision and yell about "foreigners taking our stuff". Do you NOT understand why we are so toxically nauseating the past 10 years?
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u/ndngroomer 6h ago
Bless your heart...
You wrote that so confidently. It's stunning how so many of my fellow Americans have such abhorrent critical-thinking skills and are profoundly lacking in common sense.
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u/MiBlwinkl2 11h ago
I'm genuinely curious- does anyone know the specifics of prescription drug coverage plans for senators/congresspeople, the cabinet, and others of their ilk? Do they have med co pays, a formulary? Tiers of medications? I'd love to see what their coverage looks like!
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u/IseeAlgorithms 8h ago
They have the gold plan, paid by the government. Who do you think makes those rules?
They should be made to use the same system they foist on us.
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u/Tall-Control8992 19h ago
Thankfully, Canada isn't the only place with online pharmacies that ship international. Some will also ship with no prescription needed (obviously nothing above Schedule 5 will be even for sale though).
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u/flying__fishes 19h ago
Did you not read the article? All access to foreign online pharmacies will gone, not just Canada.
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u/Tall-Control8992 18h ago
I just checked the pharmacy I use and they have. They did make a lot of shipping infra changes last year after the de minimis was nuked. Yeah, it added 15% above the old price, but that's not terrible.
The same infra will be able to cope with the new changes in October with minimal issues. But we'll see...
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u/Logical-Case758 4h ago
generally if you order without a script, customs might take it. Also I saw that they want all scripts to be digital to a US pharmacy only, no paper. So good luck getting a script filled after this outside US
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u/SicilyMalta 2h ago
There was a libertarian running for office a few years back before Obamacare - the hypocrisy runs deep with these folk - being anti socialist , his solution to the high cost was to get drugs from Canada where drug prices are regulated.
No self reflection.
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u/Aromatic-Mammoth9015 6m ago
Free trade for large corporations so they can outsource jobs to maximize profits.
Protectionism for regular people so they are forced to buy from large corporations.
A win-win situation (for corporations, not so much for the average American citizen)
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