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Utah Will Pay for Public Employees to Fill Prescriptions in Mexico

Utah Will Pay for Public Employees to Fill Prescriptions in Mexico

By    |   Monday, 29 October 2018 10:29 AM EDT

Employees of the state of Utah will be reimbursed for travel to Mexico for prescription drugs thanks to one Utah insurer, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

PEHP, which provides insurance for about 160,000 state employees and their families, has offered to buy plane tickets and to pay for other forms of transportation, along with a $500 cash payout, to patients that need an expensive drug that treats multiple sclerosis, and other disorders. This “pharmacy tourism” policy began this fall after the state passed a law requiring that insurers for state employees offer a “savings reward” or a cash incentive for those who want to pick a cheaper option.

“That money is pretty small in comparison to the difference between U.S. prices and Mexico prices,” said PEHP clinical operations director Travis Tolley.

In America, the MS drug Axonex costs about $6,700 for enough to last 28 days. That same drug in a PEHP-contracted clinic in Tijuana costs about $2,200.

“Why wouldn’t we pay $300 to go to San Diego, drive across to Mexico and save the system tens of thousands of dollars?” said state Rep. Norman Thurston, R-Provo, the legislation’s sponsor. “If it can be done safely, we should be all over that.”

“When you start looking at the list at these higher-priced drugs people are taking, you think, ‘How in the world can there be such a big price differential between the U.S. and other countries? What’s going on?’” he added. "Why wouldn’t we fly our employee to Mexico?”

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Employees of the state of Utah will be reimbursed for travel to Mexico for prescription drugs thanks to one Utah insurer, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
utah, prescription, medication, public, employees
249
2018-29-29
Monday, 29 October 2018 10:29 AM
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