Database hopes to improve drug pricing transparency for New Mexicans

SANTA FE — Prescription costs can vary wildly, leaving some patients in shock at the pharmacy register.

For example, a 30-day supply of the commonly prescribed antidepressant citalopram can cost anywhere between $3 and $29 out of pocket, depending on where it is filled.

The cheapest place to fill that prescription in Albuquerque is Walmart, and the most expensive is CVS. To complicate things, some pharmacies, like Walgreens, won’t reveal their pricing until the prescription is already sent.

Instead of spending an hour on hold with various pharmacies, patients can now look up the average cost of their medication in a freshly launched New Mexico Department of Health database.

“This public portal will empower New Mexicans to compare health care prices and access information on health care quality, helping them make informed choices to seek quality care,” said NMDOH spokesperson David Barre in a statement.

Created to combat a lack of transparency in health care pricing, the All Payers Claims Database first launched in August, with average prices for medical procedures and reported prices for specific health care providers, according to a NMDOH news release.

The prescription cost look up feature was added in June, NMDOH announced June 26.

Averages are created based on millions of health care claims in New Mexico, said Ervin Garcia, the Health Systems Epidemiology Program Manager at NMDOH. The database was inspired by a similar one in Colorado, and has been in development for five years, Garcia said.

Patients can also look up typical costs for procedures at specific hospitals and regions in the database. For example, getting an MRI in Clovis is more than twice as expensive as in Albuquerque, according to the database.

The database is now available in Spanish, improving accessibility for many of New Mexico’s residents, Garcia said.

To access the database, visit apcd.doh.nm.gov.