Elizabeth31

Hi Again

My second post!!! Things have suddenly speeded up for my hubby and I. We are waiting for a parents visa Subclass 103. My daughter has been asked to lodge the Assurance of Support with the bank within the next 14 days and now we are in panic mode thinking about the things we need to know!

My hubby takes daily medication and with the visa we will be eligible for Medicare from day one but I can't find out much about how much his prescriptions are going to cost, he is over 60 so here in the UK he doesn't pay anything for them.

I've looked at the PBS website but can't really get my head around it

Can anyone help please.

quoll

Max of about $35 per item per fill (usually a month) so if you are on a couple of meds then $70 etc - some are cheaper and you can often get generic versions which are a little bit cheaper than a named version. There is a safetynet threshold of around $1200 pa beyond which you get the concession rate for prescriptions - around $5 each

http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/...cripts/pbs.jsp

Elizabeth31

Thank you Can you tell me if that charge is a standard charge or if the meds are cheaper would it cost less or does that charge apply to all prescriptions? Going to work out quite expensive at this rate.

alipally

My OH was taking a regular medicine and before we went I popped into the Docs and told them that we were going on an extended holiday and picked up 6 months of prescriptions for him....

Just a thought whilst you're settling in etc. One less thing to worry about.

benny the ball

Reply from my wife (a pharmacist)

If you are required to self fund - as I believe this kind of visa requires - you wont have a concession card. You will have to pay the cost of the each drug up to a maximum of $35.40. The safety net is $1350, after you reach this you pay the concession rate of $5.80.
If the medication is not covered on the PBS you are required to pay the whole cost of the drug.
For a more accurate idea of cost she would need to know what medication your husband is on. You can pm me if you want.
Also be aware that some medication in the UK isn't available over here.

alipally

Forgot about that!

there are a few diabetes meds that you just don't see in Australia, simply because they've not been licenced yet.

If you are lucky enough to have been prescribed Pradaxa in the UK, it's not even licensed in Australia.

One of the most common Antihypertensives in the UK isn't available on PBS in Australia (Losartan, if you wanted to know) simply because MSD (the manufacturer) and the PBS could not agree on a price... there's a lot of that too.....

Forsteo (Known as Forteo in Oz) only got PBS funding in 2009 in Australia because it's sooo expensive!

So do get as much supply from your GP before you get on the plane.... There are alternatives available for almost everything, that is available on the PBS, so no need to panic.

Grayling

Parent visa holders have full medicare rights

Dorothy

Pradaxa (dabigatran) is available in Australia.

benny the ball

Thats different to having a concession card. Just because you have a medicare card you dont get free prescriptions.
Medicare card just means you dont have to pay the full price of the medication which in this case would be hundreds of dollars not the capped $35.40.

curly

Scripts do vary from chemist to chemist, The Chemist Warehouse is usually the cheapest. If there isn't one near you they have an online facility

Grayling

Parent visas have exactly the same rights as any other PR visa. If other PR visas can get a concession card then so can parent visa holders....they are treated no differently.

mulben

Also on April 1 (not a joke ) new pricing on "some" pharmaceuticals will provide some relief . ie $35.40 reduces to $22.68 (one of my statins)
partial full list available here.
http://www.pbs.gov.au/info/industry/...s-1-april-2012

quoll

The $35+ is a maximum that you would be charged for any med on the PBS. However, if your med of choice is NOT on the PBS and you arent happy with the alternative they offer you, then you pay full whack which might be $100+ all depending on what it is. If it is cheaper (you may be lucky) then you get charged what it costs

benny the ball

The whole point of the Assurance of Support is that the Government does not have to fund the immigrant. This is in place for 2 years from arrival. After this period of two years they may be eligible for a concession card but will have to meet certain criteria.
Just because you have a pr does not give you an automatic right to a concession card in the same way a pr visa holder may not claim our equivalent of 'the dole' for the first two years.
Medical concessions cards are also all means tested therefore once you retire you do not automatically get free meds.

Grayling

I have been here on a parent visa for a few years.

Parents are entitled to the same rights as any other PR visa holder.

You seemed to be suggesting that, somehow, parents had less rights than other PR holders which is incorrect.

The AOS is for 10 years by the way......medical expenses do not affect it.