How to Save $6k in RX in Cancun, Mexico (May 11, 2026)
Soapbox Warning: The FOR profit healthcare system in the United States is totally out of control. What I’m doing today is already common and likely to continue to grow until healthcare is totally reformed and shifts focus from “increase profits & shareholder value” to actually improving the lives of those in our healthcare system.
Ever since I turned 21, I have paid for my own healthcare. At first, this was part of my job benefits and I paid only a small fraction. Today I pay 100% on my own. My cost of insurance for a family of 4 is outrageous at $2,739.41 per month or $32,872.92 per year. That’s JUST for the insurance I pay to BlueCross Blue Shield (BCBS) so that I have the privilege of a “high deductible” of $2,000 per person and $5,000 per family … before my health insurance decides to cover just about anything we need covered. WTF?
In the past 21 years alone, our private for-profit insurance, BCBS, has received more than $700,000 from my family. My lifetime investment is well over a million … for insurance … in case something might happen! That doesn’t include the out-of-pocket expenses we’ve paid for any actual emergencies like hospital visits to reset broken bones, dislocated shoulders, or surgery. That’s extra. On top of this number.
So you can imagine my extreme frustration when earlier this year, BCBS denied my doctor’s pre-authorization and prescription for a Zepbound, a tirzepatide I used last year to move myself out of the “obese” category to the “healthy weight” category. Out of pocket, a 4-week prescription is currently $1,200, or $300 per weekly shot.
What’s worse, if you stop using Zepbound, Eli Lilly recommends and most doctors comply that you must restart at the lowest (read ineffective) doze. So not only are you paying top dollar, you must invest 3 months or $3,600 to essentially begin treatment. For an 8-month treatment without insurance, you’re looking at almost $10k (8×4x$300) or $9,600.
Or, you could pay $6k less at $3,600 for all this (about $100 per week)
Following my doctor’s prescription and recommendation, I will “ease” back into my weekly routines starting with the lower dose of 5MG, then go to 7.5MG where I experience initial weight loss and then maintain at 10MG. 34 shots total for about $100 a week.
Does it absolutely suck that you must fly to Mexico to save $6k? Yes. Ironically, even if BCBS decided to cover Zepbound, the cost is about the same. Why? The first $2k is on me (remember, high deductible) and then I owe 20% thereafter. It might still be less to fly to Mexico once all the deductibles have been paid. I’d have to dig into that a bit further.
Why the cost savings? Cut out all the middlemen. In Mexico, that includes your doctor if you so choose. I don’t recommend it, but as the cost of insurance continues to soar and won’t come down without government intervention and likewise big pharma is equally incentivized not to save lives and cure diseases, but rather continue the money grab and line its pockets and those of its shareholders, this is one of a handful of loopholes we must explore.
Obesity Is A Real Problem
When it comes to your health, you’re statistically likely to die from four things: (1) Heart Attack, (2) Cancer, (3) Alzheimer's, or (4) Diabetes. While we can’t stop death, we can minimize our own risks of these “four horsemen of the apocalypse” with better diet and regular exercise. At least, that’s what I took away from author Peter Attia, M.D. of Outlive.
Author Peter Attia, M.D. of Outlive on why our diet and exercise matters
I’m summarizing here, but one of the things we can do to prolong our life is regular exercise and better diet to bring in our weight. This one act reduces all four massive disease states. Fat makes our hearts work harder, may cause plaque in our brains (Alzheimer's), certainly is the root cause of Type-2 diabetes, and there are some indications the dopamine released from regular exercise minimizes some cancer risks. Regardless, you feel better and reduce your stress which is also linked to some cancers.
So Zepbound (also know as Mounjaro), helps people like me feel satiated earlier, eat less and crave food less often — especially sugar. The fact that this could turn around our obesity epidemic is nothing short of a miracle. Only problem is our for-profit healthcare system. So, while I can’t personally change this, I can (and have) voted with my feet. By leaving the US to acquire the medicine I need, I not only saved $6k, I believe I’m also extending my life. After all, what’s the money for anyway if not to increase the quality of our lives and possibly extend them — even if it’s only by a little bit.
I trust I won’t have to continue doing this, but at least I know it’s an option if I can’t get BCBS to come to their senses and see a healthier customer costs less than an obese, type-2 diabetic one. And, eventually, big pharma’s patent will expire and generics will become available. Until that time, flying to Mexico for a vacation isn’t the worst way to save thousands and extend my life. At least, that’s my POV.
