Israeli Online Customers Attracting U.S. Customers
Aug. 5–Millicent Fligman is always on the lookout for reasonably priced prescription drugs, so when she discovered an online Israeli pharmacy with cheaper prices than Costco, she decided to try it.
The 76-year-old Palm Beach Gardens resident bought three-month supplies of her osteoporosis, cholesterol and heartburn medications from IsraMeds.com, paying about $225 less than she did at Costco.
For Fligman, who pays for the medicines out of her own pocket, the saved money is important. And so is the good service and the idea that she was giving a small boost to the Israeli economy.
“They were very efficient and prompt and courteous and knowledgable,” said Fligman, who is Jewish. “Not only that, but my heart belongs to Israel.”
Online Canadian pharmacies have long been popular with South Florida seniors looking to save money on prescriptions, and Israeli companies are hoping to take some of those dollars. Online pharmacies based in Israel started popping up in the past two years, often advertising cheaper prices than their Canadian counterpartsand playing up the fact that they offer kosher drugs and a way to support the Israeli economy.
Their emergence is driven by a number of factors. The Canadian dollar has strengthened, making drugs from that country less of a deal for Americans. Some customers were scared off by months of speculation that Ujjal Dosanjh, Canada’s health minister, would place limits on Canada’s online pharmacies, but he ended up just banning bulk exports of prescription drugs to the United States.
Finally, U.S. drug companies have attempted to slow the drug supply flowing to Canada, making it more difficult for pharmacies to fill orders, said Gabriel Levitt, vice president of research for PharmacyChecker.com, a Web site that rates online pharmacies.
“The drug companies began to devise ways to choke the supply of drugs to Canadian pharmacies. Since then it’s become a cat-and-mouse game for Canadian pharmacies to have adequate supplies. So they started partnering with foreign markets,” Levitt said. “Then a couple of Web sites have sprouted up indigenously in Israel.”
Among those home-grown Israeli Web sites are IsraMeds.com, MagenDavidMeds.com and TelAvivMeds.com.
PharmacyChecker.com has only rated MagenDavid Meds.com, which meets the site’s highest criteria. PharmacyChecker.com makes sure online pharmacies dispense drugs through a licensed pharmacy, keep medical records private and financial records secure and provide their company address and phone number.
The drugs sold on the Israeli sites are sometimes cheaper than the Canadian ones because the Israeli government sets lower prices. A 90-day supply of 10-milligram doses of the cholesterol medicine Lipitor costs $140 on CanadaPharmacy.com. The same drug on MagenDavidMeds.com costs $122.64, and on IsraMeds.com it was $126. On TelAvivMeds.com it was $141.45.
Florida is a big market for these companies because of the state’s large Jewish population. IsraMeds.com, which has been shipping drugs to the U.S. since 2001, has filled prescriptions for 7,500 households in Palm Beach County this year, up from 1,500 in 2004, said Michael Pirages, a company spokesman.
MagenDavidMeds.com, which started almost two years ago, used to fill 15 to 20 prescriptions a day. Now it fills close to 1,500, said Nathan Jacobson, the company’s president.
The companies, which advertise in Jewish publications, also remind customers that they are helping Israel. IsraMeds.com features fluttering Israeli flags and proclaims in large blue letters, “IsraMeds allows you to save up to 90 percent on prescription drugs while supporting Israel’s economy.”
But Canadian pharmacists need not worry about Israel siphoning off too much business, Levitt said.
“It’s a fraction of the overall market,” he said, adding that he’d be surprised if Israeli pharmacies filled more than 5 percent of all online orders in 2004. “You’re dealing with millions of Americans without an adequate health benefit. I think they can play a role.”
Rosalie Hobas, of Delray Beach, bought her blood pressure and cholesterol medicines from Canada for years. The 75-year-old Jewish woman, who has no prescription drug coverage, has been buying them from MagenDavidMeds.com for about a year and says she’s probably paying at least one-third less than she did before.
“On one drug I was paying $35 a month. Now I’m paying $70 for three months,” Hobas said. “It’s an additional plus the fact that I’m supporting the Israeli economy.”
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