Utah insurance company takes clients to Mexico for cheaper medications

By: Abigail Calandra| Head Editor

February 20, 2020

Two years ago the insurance plan for Utah government employees curated a new method to curb high prescription costs: $500 cash and a trip to Mexico to buy prescription drugs at a cheaper price. This form of medical tourism is nothing new, but the Utah insurer is saving hundreds of thousands on the medicine for a handful of public employees who are willing to make the trip abroad. 

The Public Employees Health Plan (PEHP) director Chet Loftis explained that the process begins by flying a health plan member into the San Diego International Airport where they are picked up by private transport. They are driven to a hospital in Tijuana that meets US standards where they receive the same drug as they would in the US. Health plan members are then given $500 cash and the employer saves 40% to 60%. 

The plan currently applies to patients taking one or more of 13 specialty drugs. Too often people taking these medicines are willing to pay whatever local pharmacies are charging without searching for other options. 

“I’m sad to see that this is what our healthcare system has come to. I feel like the integrity of insurance companies will be sure to go down if it requires you to travel to another country,” San Clemente High School senior Devin Norden said. “If I wanted to go to another country to seek healthcare I would go to London because they have universal health coverage. I feel like that should be our standard.” 

For context, a 28-day supply of the MS drug Avonex costs about $6,700 in the US, while in Tijuana it costs about $2,200. About 150,000 to 320,000 Americans consider their health care as their reason for traveling abroad– lower costs being the motivation. But to see a major health care provider utilize medical tourism as a cost-saving measure is rare. 

“It’s completely outrageous that American citizens can’t count on the own healthcare system to deliver reasonably-priced medication anymore,” SCHS senior Camryn Harrell said. “We shouldn’t have to rely on foreign companies to provide us with resources that are fundamental to our health.”

It’s important to note that only ten people have actually made the trek across the border, and this isn’t a sustainable model for curbing health care. Not to mention, there are some concerns about the safety of the medications being purchased over the border.

Most importantly, this reveals a major problem with the healthcare system in the US. Drug prices in the States are more expensive than any other developed country in the world. With the lack of price regulation, private insurance companies, which cover more than half of Americans, negotiate with private drug companies to set prices. Until the US government gets its healthcare under control, buying prescriptions in Mexico may be the best option for now.