sunday, november 7, 1999
Seniors view Mexico as cheap pharmacy
MESA (AP) - Mexico holds a different sort of allure for Americans like Dorothy Carlson.
Where some see a trip south of the border as an opportunity to enjoy another culture, Carlson views it as a way to cope with the rising costs of prescription medications.
The Mesa woman spent $38 last week in Nogales, Sonora, on medications for her diabetes and her eyes. She said the same medicines would have cost her $183.69 in the United States.
"I was dumbfounded when I saw the price," Carlson told The Tribune, a newspaper serving suburban Phoenix. "This is just unreal."
Carlson's sticker shock is shared by carloads and busloads of senior citizens who regularly make the three-hour trip from the Phoenix metropolitan area to the Mexican border town to stock up on everything from Pepsid to Prozac.
Buying medicine in Mexico has become almost a tradition for some residents of border states over the years,- but there are suggestions more people may be willing to try it as prices climb and health maintenance organizations raise costs to consumers.
In recent weeks, seniors on popular Medicare HMOs have received notices that next year's premi- will increase even as drug benefits are reduced.
Mesa resident Shirley Cooper said she got a letter from CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona saying her drug maximum will be cut in half in July, from $4,000. to $2,000.
And for that she will pay more: The monthly, premium for her and her husband will jump from $63.50 to $92. Co-payments for brand-name drugs will increase from $12 to $20 each.
This is crazy," said Cooper, 65, who is considering a trip to Mexico. With the eight brand, name medications she has to take each day, Cooper has already hit her $4,000 maximum.
Pharmaceutical company representatives say they have to mark up drug prices in the United States to pay for costly research and development of new medicines.
In Mexico, drugs are priced lower because the cost of living is lower, said Jackie Cottrell, a spokeswoman for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
In the United States, many seniors say they can't can't afford medication because they are on fixed incomes, so they head to the border.
The U.S. Customs Service notes people buying medications in Mexico should always declare them when coming back across the border and recommend having a prescription.
The fin-tit is a 90-day supply. A person can buy enough for himself and a family member who lives with him once every 30 days.
The limit is 50 pills or doses for medications that do not require a prescription.
the webmaster says the solution is ovious. get the government out of regulating drugs in the USA and a free market will make the prices drop in the US just like they are in MEXICO.
Yes eliminate the FDA