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Many US citizens travel to the two neighboring countries in search of cheap medical care and medicines. According to the latest surveys, this affects at least 2.3 million people. In the United States, drugs are completely free, which means that the retail price of drugs can be up to several times higher than in Canada or Mexico. This is especially annoying for many Americans because it is also the case with locally manufactured formulations. In Mexico, for example, the price of a monthly dose of insulin produced by Lilly is less than $ 100 in Mexico, while in the United States it can be charged up to $ 530. In addition to drug prices, it is worth crossing the border for other reasons. For many Americans, it is worth going to neighboring countries to see a doctor and dentist, and to perform major or minor surgeries there.
Bargain prices
Today, about 28 million Americans are uninsured, to which the current president has contributed a bit by drilling into Obamacare, and in many cases it is still worth going abroad for care anyway, even if they have safe at home. The situation is characterized by the fact that there is already a US health insurance company that pays part of the cost of the trip if the patient is willing to take medicine in Mexico. Of course, this has also boosted the Mexican economy, with pharmacies and medical and dental clinics flourishing in border cities, and many American patients have reported that
In Mexico, you can even negotiate with a doctor or pharmacist for much lower prices anyway.
All of this, of course, has changed right now, right in the middle of the COVID epidemic.
Drug traffic
Because of this, at the same time, a large number of patients who had flocked to the neighborhood for care so far rushed to the US medical care, causing great overload. However, of course, patients also fared poorly because they could charge up to five times the price of their drugs in the United States compared to prices in Mexico and Canada. The situation has deteriorated to the point where drug smuggling is on the rise in the United States and a black market for drugs has practically emerged. It has also strengthened supporters of Bernie Sanders, a former Democratic presidential candidate who now proclaims a radical left in the United States, who promised universal health care and official drug prices if elected.
Trump’s solution
Sanders ultimately lost the presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to many for fraud, and this year to Joe Biden. According to most analysts, this was precisely because for wealthy, or at least middle-class voters, his program would have meant a tax increase that the Democratic Party simply did not dare to risk, which is why many said that Sanders’ candidacy was drilled from within the party. President Trump, who wants to import drugs from Canada at Canadian prices, has already responded to the situation. Obviously, the Canadian authorities do not like this, as they believe it would lead to a drug shortage in Canada. Therefore, the problem is unsolved, which in the meantime will help the black market to flourish.
(The author is a doctor who has been healing in the United States since the 1990s.)
(Cover image: Cars lined up on the Mexico-America border in El Paso on August 24, 2020. Photo: José Luis González / Reuters)
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