With Plane Tickets To San Diego, Utah Public Employees Paid To Travel To Mexico For Cheaper Prescription Drugs
An insurer that covers 160,000 Utah public employees and their families offers plane tickets to San Diego, transport to Tijuana and a $500 cash payout to patients who need expensive medicines for certain diseases like multiple sclerosis, cancer and autoimmune disorders. In other drug pricing news, the American Medical Association encourages the FTC to monitor spiking insulin costs.
The Salt Lake Tribune:
To Fight High Drug Prices, Utah Will Pay For Public Employees To Go Fill Prescriptions In Mexico
Amid a flurry of national proposals to bring exorbitant U.S. drug prices in line with other countries’ charges, one Utah insurer has a different option for patients: Pay them to go to Mexico. PEHP, which covers 160,000 public employees and family members, is offering plane tickets to San Diego, transportation to Tijuana, and a $500 cash payout to patients who need certain expensive drugs for multiple sclerosis, cancer and autoimmune disorders. (Alberty, 10/29)
The Hill:
Physicians Group Urges FTC To Monitor Insulin Pricing
The American Medical Association is urging the Federal Trade Commission to take action against drug companies they say are contributing to high prices for insulin. In a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, the AMA said physicians are concerned that the rapid rise in the price of insulin for patients is unrelated to the actual costs of research, development, commercialization, or production. (Weixel, 10/29)