Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the Postal Service deliver more than a billion prescriptions in 2019?

Sunday, May 31, 2020

By Jacqueline Agustin

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YES

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking Congressional funding to help offset the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. As part of those efforts, leaders of unions representing its 640,000 employees are pointing out the importance of various capabilities of its services.

"The USPS also plays an important role in the U.S. health care system by handling 1.2 billion prescription drug shipments a year - that’s nearly 4 million every day, six days a week," the leaders said in an April 7 letter to the GOP Congressional leadership. "It also delivers hundreds of millions of lab tests and medical supply shipments - from blood testing strips and insulin needles to contact lenses."

The 1.2 billion prescription drug shipments represent a large share of the U.S. 4.38 billion retail prescriptions in 2019.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Association of Letter Carriers: Union leaders' letter to Congressional leadership

Statista: Retail prescriptions filled in US

NPR: The Postal Service is suffering amid the coronavirus

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.