4. Can someone get prescription drugs from Canada?

Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States buy prescription drugs online or by mail order, or travel to Canada from border states to fill their prescriptions. The total runs to billions of dollars a year. The reason? The Canadian healthcare system negotiates with the pharmaceutical companies for reduced prices. Anyone buying these drugs -- the same drugs that are sold in the United States for 50 to 80 percent more -- in Canada benefits from the discount. The law is murky on this subject; technically, U.S. Customs could seize such drugs, but in practice they almost never do.

To help the person in your care find a reliable Canadian source for prescription drugs, you need to take several steps. First find various options online by searching the Internet for "prescription drugs Canada." Then investigate any particular source by entering the name of the service in a search engine to look for reports of poor service or fraud. Check with any office of the nonprofit State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) to vet the reputation of a Canadian pharmacy service that you're considering. You can find the number for a local office online or in the white pages of the phone directory under SHIP or HICAP. Finally, start small -- the first time, order only the smallest available amount of one medication. If that works out well, he can expand his orders to include other prescriptions or larger amounts.