To cope with explosive prescription drug prices, the state of Utah came up with an unorthodox option for the public employees it insures: Pay them to go to Mexico.
In other countries, specialty drugs can cost as little as half the U.S. price — which means the savings for taxpayers can be substantial. But the plan raised questions: Is it safe? Would Utahns be willing to make the trip over the international border to Tijuana, 700 miles away? And why are drug prices so much higher in America?
With the support of the Association of Health Care Journalists and The Commonwealth Fund, The Salt Lake Tribune sent a reporter to Tijuana to find out more.
Read the full story here.
Erin is a reporter who has previously been an outdoor columnist and worked the crime beat. She was the lead reporter on The Tribune's Pulitzer-winning coverage of campus sexual assault. She has worked at newspapers in Michigan and Iowa and taught English for two years at teacher-training colleges in China.