Mail-order services popular, inexpensive among patients Canadian internet pharmacies may play an important role in controlling the cost of pharmaceuticals, as a new report suggests that payers can save up to $46.6 billion over the next decade by encouraging members to use mail-service pharmacies. Canadian internet pharmacies may play an important role in controlling the cost of pharmaceuticals, as a new report suggests that payers can save up to $46.6 billion over the next decade by encouraging members to use mail-service pharmacies. The report comes from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. The authors suggest that mail-service pharmacies may offer a number of benefits in addition to lower costs. Many individuals who use these services say they are more convenient than traditional pharmacies, where patients must wait for their prescriptions to be filled. Despite these benefits, some states have recently considered legislation that would prevent employers and other payers from offering insurance plans that encourage members to utilize mail-service pharmacies through smaller co-pays. The report claims that such prohibitions decrease the utilization of the low-cost options by as much as 50 percent. Given the fact that mail-service pharmacies offer such low costs and are popular among patients, the report recommends that these options be made more available. This may enable more patients to take advantage of the low costs at Canadian internet pharmacies.

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