LAUSR

The high price of pharmaceuticals in USA has caused patients, health insurance plans and policy makers to explore the possibility of purchasing pharmaceuticals in Mexico. However, it is unclear if the practice would lower costs and whether US patients would be willing to purchase pharmaceuticals in Mexico. Focusing on seniors who spend the winter along the Texas/Mexico border, Winter Texans, the purpose of this study was to identify their most common health problems and whether they used Mexican pharmaceuticals to manage those problems. Data for this cross-sectional pilot study were collected through sending an online survey to 1040 seniors on the Winter Texan Migrant Panel. A total of 311 completed the survey and the data were analysed. The most common medical conditions were pain (69%), high cholesterol (37%) and arthritis (32%). Half of the respondents purchased a total of 293 Mexican pharmaceuticals with 77.5% indicating that the lower cost influenced their decision. The most frequently treated conditions with Mexican pharmaceuticals were infections (37%), pain (28%) and acid reflux (24.4%). Seniors did not treat their most common medical conditions with Mexican medication, except for pain. Instead, they used it for more minor and acute problems. This suggests that the decision of where to purchase a pharmaceutical is complex and not exclusively dependent on cost. Therefore, legislation and health insurance plans that encourage seniors to purchase pharmaceuticals abroad might be successful for lowering the cost of treatment for some medical conditions but not others.