Utah sends employees to Mexico for lower prescription prices

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

SALT LAKE CITY -- Ann Lovell had never owned a passport before last year. Now, the 62-year-old teacher is a frequent flier, traveling every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah’s public insurer.

Lovell is one of about 10 state workers participating in a year-old program to lower prescription drug costs by having public employees buy their medication in Mexico at a steep discount compared to U.S. prices. The program appears to be the first of its kind, and is a dramatic example of steps states are taking to alleviate the high cost of prescription drugs.

In one long, exhausting day, Lovell flies from Salt Lake City to San Diego. There, an escort picks her up and takes her across the border to a Tijuana hospital, where she gets a refill on her prescription. After that, she’s shuttled back to the airport and heads home.

Lovell had been paying $450 in co-pays every few months for her medication, though she said it would have increased to some $2,400 if she had not started traveling to Mexico. Without the program, she would not be able to afford the medicine she needs.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/utah-sends-employees-mexico-lower-prescription-prices-68861516?cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

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There is MUCH MUCH more information at the link.

I think it speaks volumes that a red state is doing this. We need to keep pushing Congress to act in OUR best interest instead of the drug companies.

[Dem2theMax]

1. This is insane.

The GOP has a stranglehold on this country.
They have turned America into a country that is only affordable if you are wealthy.

Why in the world can't voting Republicans see this?

[IronLionZion]

2. Mexico will build their own wall

to keep out Americans coming there for normal prices on the exact same prescription drugs.

It's disappointing to keep hearing politicians talk about high costs of healthcare when there are lots of wealthy executive of various types of companies who benefit from keeping costs high. Those executives spend tons of money on lobbyists and advertising to keep the status quo. They don't want regulations or free market competition to lower prices.

Spending money on research and development and recouping it in high prices sounds great but doesn't do much if the people who need it can't afford to buy it.

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

[BigmanPigman]

4. I worked for an eye doctor

in San Diego who worked with patients he sent to Mexico for Lasik surgery 20 years ago. I did it myself when it wad developed for far and near sighted people. We would have about 4 patents drive down to TJ, Mexico (about a 45 min drive) and a Mexican doctor did the procedure in his office then we'd drive back to San Diego. I only know about this one doctor but I assume there are many people going there for a variety of surgeries too.

[Dem2theMax]

9. I'm in North County. I know lots of people who go to Mexico for dental work.

And they have dental insurance. But it's cheaper to go to Mexico.

I have friends who just bought a retirement place in Ensenada. They can't afford to live in the United States when they retire. So they are going back and forth a lot to get this place ready. I can't believe the things they find in Mexico that are so cheap compared to the price as we are paying here.

[BigmanPigman]

13. I believe it.

I always see signs for dentists and dentures when I go down there. Even with dental insur a root canal cost me over $1,000 10 years ago.

Can your friends buy land in Ensenada or do they lease it from the govt? I heard that is what some people do to live more comfortably than in the US.

[Dem2theMax]

17. I honestly don't know if the land came with it.

I will have to ask them. They purchased in a gated community. It happens to be where the mayor of Ensenada lives. So there is really good security in the area.

I do know that there are all sorts of strange rules and regulations in Mexico, let alone in the community where they purchased.

They would have been fine in the United States, but they did not exactly live on a budget. And now they are paying for it. There is no way they can afford the mortgage on the home that they are living in, once they retire. They will have to sell it. They took out a loan to buy the place in Mexico.

I'll let you know when I find out about the land. I'm curious about that myself, now that you mention it.

[BigmanPigman]

19. I last heard this a while ago

so the laws may have changed. I also heard that the police are very corrupt and that safety is a problem for new residents who are not used to it. I suppose the gated communities have to pay extra for the security.

[Dem2theMax]

20. The gated community is very strict.

It sounds like they have eyeballs on you 24/7 . And I mean eyeballs, not just security cameras.

Apparently, there are a lot of Americans living in this gated community. So my friends are getting a crash course in how to live in Mexico.

From simple things to very complicated things, it's going to be a long learning curve.

They found out you have to use bottled water for all your drinking and cooking needs. They had no idea of that when they purchased the place. The water from the shower is salty. Go figure. They are in walking distance to the beach.

If you bring furniture, or other household items from the United States to your new house in Mexico, you have to pay a fee for each item that you bring into the country.

It sounds like this will just go on and on and on. They learn more every time they go down to fix up the house some more.

[BigmanPigman]

21. I wish them luck.

I am too old to learn new tricks, I think. I would have to learn more Spanish first. A semester or two years ago would not suffice. I can barely order lunch when I go to Tecate (my favorite Mexican day trip). It's super fast and easy to go over the border and no lines or people selling stuff all over the place...it's like the "real" Mexico and a 45 min drive from Downtown.

[Dem2theMax]

22. I wish them luck too. I think they are crazy going into this so fast.

The husband was panicking about not having a place to retire to. The wife is much more practical when it comes to planning ahead. So she's freaking out, and it's a done deal.

I've tried to talk to them about budgeting better, and they don't want to hear anything about it.

I really think if they had tightened their belts, and planned on working maybe two or three years longer, they could have paid off their house and stayed right where they are. They love their home here in the states.

She's very independent and doesn't speak a word of Spanish. So now she is going to have to rely on her husband because he is pretty fluent. I know she will pick up the language in time, but she needs to start learning now while she has a few years ahead of her.

Honestly, I don't think they did any research at all, other than to see a house online and within two days they owned it. Crazy! But I do hope it works out for them.

[BigmanPigman]

23. Whoa! That is taking a risk, especially at this stage in their life.

That is the opposite of me. I'll stick with San Diego, thank you very much.

[Dem2theMax]

24. I know. I'd be researching for years before I did something like that.

They fully admit they were very irresponsible in their younger days. They spent money freely. Went on lots of expensive vacations, have lots of expensive habits.

The weird thing is, when they really started talking about their future, maybe around two years ago, you would think they would have formed a strict budget and stuck to it.

Nope.

She easily spends over $3,000 a year just to go to the movies. I'm not kidding. I mentioned that cutting back on the movies would be a real fast way to save a lot of money. She wouldn't hear of it.

[BigmanPigman]

25. Oh brother!

I have to watch every penny so I have no sympathy for them. I was raised to live within your means. I haven't seen more than one new movie a year since I can't remember when, sometimes I go two years. I sock every penny away in case I have to have surgery to eliminate the pain of one of my two diseases and with the ACA in limbo due to the GOP I could be broke tomorrow due to health care costs. I would love to blow all of my savings and go out once in a while but with health care in the US...well, you know how it is.

[Dem2theMax]

28. I'm in exactly the same position as you.

I have a very strict budget. I live on a fixed income. If a bill goes up, I have to give up the money somewhere else.

I used to be more careless with my money. Not anymore. When I go shopping, and when I say that it usually means groceries, I am looking in the cart to make sure I really need everything that's in there. I usually end up putting some things back because I really don't need them. Or if I come home with something and I feel guilty, it goes back.

For years I owned one pair of shoes. A pair of tennis shoes. And I'm constantly watching these programs where people have closets that are only full of shoes. I don't get it. I finally have a pair of sandals. And I bought a second pair of tennis shoes. That's all I need.
I'm the kind of person stores hate. I don't buy much.

Living in Southern California, we both know that fire season is always around us. So I keep money stashed away for emergencies. I always figure it is going to be a fire or a health emergency that's going to get me. I hope not, but I stay prepared for it.

You'll laugh at this. The only time I go to the movies is when my friend takes me. And she never lets me pay. So that just makes the cost of her movies even more expensive. LOL?

[BigmanPigman]

34. I think you and must have been raised by the same type of parents.

My sister and I live like you. The rest of the country lives like this post......

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142431952

[Dem2theMax]

36. Lol!

I'm just like my parents. They were very practical.
My dad had his own business. He owned a Mobil service station. And the entire family worked there, myself included.

We were strictly blue-collar, hardworking people.
And I understood from a young age where that food on the table came from. That was one of the best life lessons I ever could have had.

I think you and I were very lucky to have the parents we had.

[BigmanPigman]

37. Yes, we are lucky.

My Dad died almost a year ago and I always think of him and what he taught me and how proud he was that I made a lot of good, practical, realistic decisions. If anyone ever says I am cheap I reply, "No, I am living within my means" and they never have a response.

[Dem2theMax]

38. I lost both my parents in 2012.

Whenever I'm having a hard time, I remind myself that I am my father's daughter. Somehow my spine gets stronger and straighter, and I find my way through whatever difficulty I'm having.

I don't know how people can't understand the phrase 'living within my means.' It's like you're speaking some strange, foreign language they have never heard.

I have some cousins who are rather well off. They took quite a hit when the stock market went belly-up in 2008.
Even with that hit, they still had plenty of money.

I actually told them it was very simple to keep going. All they had to do was live within their means. The husband looked at me like I was out of my mind. He told me there was no way he would change his high spending habits.

I'm not the one out of my mind. He is.

You and me? We know what we are doing.

[Kali]

27. many if not most people in Baja speak English

on the land ownership question above, my recollection is you lease within a certain distance of the coast and generally cannot own existing ejido lands, though some ejidos have changed their own rules about that. I would not ever try to purchase ejido-controled property, but coastal leases are probably pretty safe, in the context of any realestate deals being safe.

there are tons of Americans living in Mexico, Ensenada is full of them.

[NotHardly]

5. So, it would appear drug companies just screw Americans because our Congress lets them...

makes you wonder how much stock our Representatives have in these companies and how much those companies back-donate into secret little pots of cash for "our" representatives.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. The reason why it's cheaper in Mexico is their government probably negotiated a group rate

Something that Utah could do if they so desired. It would save people the cost of a trip.

[appalachiablue]

7. Unbelievable; and what happened to talk of ins. cos. sending

US patients to India and overseas for 'lower cost' operations and procedures like back surgery?

[christx30]

8. Patients in the US pay for the expensive research

done to create these drugs. Patients in other countries pay for the production costs. The US is getting shafted. Glad I have amazing insurance. My diabetic wife would probably be dead without it.

[Sherman A1]

10. I wonder how much we pay

For the endless TV advertising by pharmaceutical companies?

[mr_lebowski]

26. We pay in more ways than one ...

Because they pay for all these ads so they exert influence over the news you see and hear on TV.

[Sherman A1]

29. Precisely

I really wish that drug advertising had never been allowed to happen.

[ck4829]

11. "Greatest healthcare system in the world" at it again I see

[Grokenstein]

16. MURKIA!!!

MURIKA NUBBER...uh... (counts furiously on remaining toes) ...WUN!! MURIKA NUBBER WUN!!

[AllaN01Bear]

12. bookmarked for future reference . dispicable.

[SpankMe]

14. Didn't read the article, but I've heard of this before

In certain rare cases, it turned out to be cheaper for the employer or insurer to buy the fucking airplane tickets for the covered person to go to another country and buy the medicine than it was to pay the US rate. There were some protocols that cost something like $140k per year in the US but only $15k in Mexico or Canada. If I was paying the bill for this, I'd sure give up $2k airfare, $300 for hotel and a couple hundred in expenses for a $120k cost avoidance. No-brainer here.

Drug companies can be real motherfuckers sometimes.

[Scarsdale]

30. It is amazing that

people accept this as "normal" when there should be outrage. This explains why a loser like tRump can ride roughshod over citizens of this country. They just "fall in line" when they should be rising up and protesting these ridiculous "rules". This is accepted as normal by participants?

[area51]

39. This. n/t

[McKim]

15. Sanders Led a Group to Canada to Buy Insulin

Sanders led a group to Canada not long ago to buy insulin and had a press conference after. Everyone at DU may not prefer him as a candidate but I think he has added a lot to the conversation and ultimately the Democratic Party Platform.

[Nitram]

18. Wow! Shared on Facebook.

[Hekate]

31. "We need to keep pushing Congress"? Mme Speaker has sent literally hundreds of bills to Mitch...

Mitch jocularly calls himself The Grim Reaper.

We need to protect our Dem Congresscritters and also get rid of GOP representatives. Not to mention making getting rid of McConnell a high priority.

[Rider3]

32. And...

she's probably a Trump supporter. Nothing like voting against your better welfare.

[geretogo]

33. I would like to see a charter plane take people to Cuba for affordable dental and health care . The

news of this would be rubbing the faces of the drug and health care company's in shit . I would love to see it .

[MountCleaners]

35. DJT will just say he's lowering prices, and they believe him!

Or they believe that lowering the prices is just around the corner.

Link Here