NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Hi all

I can see some very old posts related to this but I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction.

My husband and I are both diabetic (he is on insulin, I'm on tablets) and have various other medication we have to take daily which are on repeat prescriptions here in the U.K.

I read that there could be a 90 day wait to get a medical card in Canada (forgive me if I'm wrong but as some know on here this has all happened extremely quickly as finally decided to make the commitment to move under a week ago and I was offered a very good job three days ago so trying to take in all the info when moving a family of five is stressful but thank goodness for everyone one here !)

Anyway, my question is how many months NHS medication can you take out if you if you are leaving the UK permanently?

One of my many worries is running out of the meds for literally one day, particularly my husbands insulin .

Do the NHS allow you more than they normally would to take out to another country in this situation?

We have to top up our repeat prescriptions every six to eight weeks.

Thanks

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Legally you can only take with you and import a 90 day supply of prescription medicine for each named individual supported by appropriate prescription document. Personal imports of prescription medicines by mail or courier are not allowed so before the 90 days supply is exhausted you will need to establish local prescriptions.

Cannot answer re NHS but am sure your GP will likely support a 90 day supply if you explain the circumstances.

Might need to check I guess the practicality of hand carrying a 90 day supply of insulin as well.

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Ok that's great. Thank you. It just popped in to my head this morning and typically the Doctors are closed when you need an answer!

So I guess really my only other question on this is are you guaranteed a medical card by the time your 90 days are up enabling you to guarantee a urgent top up on your meds ?

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

It appears you're not aware that medications (including Insulin) are not covered by Provincial Medical Schemes, even after three months. If your employer does not provide supplementary medical coverage you will be on the hook for all your medication costs. Many employer plans do not payout 100%. If there is a supplementary plan it may well begin on your first day of employment, hence good for you, but even some of them have a lead-in time.

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

I wasn't aware of that so thank you for pointing that out.

I was looking at extended health care plans yesterday in the event of this being the case but they state they cover pre conditions but they don't actually stipulate whether they include the meds such as insulin, high blood pressure tablets etc . I will get on to looking more in depth .

Thanks again for sharing that with me

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Each province has its own requirements for eligibility for medical cards/coverage. However, generally speaking, as long as you meet the requirements for whatever province you settle (permanently or temporarily, depending on visa), yes you'll get your card/coverage.

Note that with or without a provincial medical coverage card, you would be able to see a doctor & obtain a prescription. Of course you'd pay for that.

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Re bolded: depends on province & meds & whatever other medical insurance one has/is required to have. My meds are covered (with a co-pay).

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Thanks for clarifying. There is a huge amount to learn in a very short space of time so all this is enormously helpful !

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

We are heading to BC (once visa is sorted) so I will delve deeper into this. What is a co pay?!

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

I might not have used the correct terminology ;). Provincial healthcare doesn't cover prescription costs 100% (depending on your situation).

So, depending on province etc, you will pay a part - if not all - of the cost of meds prescribed.

For BC, you could start by reading here:
Health & Drug Coverage - Province of British Columbia

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Gosh thank you so much . I will get reading

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

Look up Fair Pharmacare, it is seperate from MSP. You need to register for both. Pharmacare benefit is determined by your income from 2 years ago, based on your Canadian tax return. For newcomers http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/he...ents-of-canada
Best to bring notice of tax assessments from HRMC for 2015 and 2014 of other official evidence of income.

The patient pays 100% until they reach as deductible, then they pay 30%, once at the maximum, then nothing. Not all meds are covered.

The more you eanr, the less they pay. Employer extended health plans will usually cover between 80 to 100%, you have to have provincial covergare to get extended though. If you rely on private extended, you will end up paying more than you take out eventuall, as they are not in the business of losing money.

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

:goodpost:

Very true and explained to me once at a conference. Extended health is really only worth it if provided by an employer UNLESS you have the benefit of a crystal ball and know that at some point you will need a crazily expensive drug. They aren't charities and will be looking to recover their costs plus profit.

In reality, most Canadians do not have extended health, this forum is a little biased I think as most ( but not all) are immigrants in well paid jobs compared to the average person- otherwise how did they get here!

OP- be careful- you are excited with your job and the opportunity but you are both diabetics.
You have that wait for a card- its the remainder of the month you arrive plus 2 more.
Then you have to get a GP- hopefully you know there is no entitlement to a GP as per the UK. A sizeable proportion of the population cannot get a GP- 30 % at least in my town.
One factor for you is the diabetes- mentioning that as you scrabble for a GP may get you one- we get paid more for them!!!
If not- you will need to use walk in clinics- most have long waits and will close if the doctor can't see any more ( fees capped).
Prescriptions- you pay for somehow.
Either you pay it- the whole amount plus a dispensing fee.
You can get Fair pharmacare- they pay a proportion after your deductible.
You have Extended health care- if you are lucky- they often pay 80-100%. Some people just have a set amount to use per year.
BUT and its a big but!
Diabetic medication in Canada is expensive.
Metformin is cheap but thats about it.
To qualify for some coverage by Pharmacare, you often need something called Special Authority- the rules depend on the drug. Your doctor needs to apply. I can imagine Walk in clinics would not be happy to do it as extra work and a faff!!
Often the doctor would need to know other drugs tried and the reasons they were changed- very hard for an immigrant.
To make it harder, some of the Extended health care companies also insist on Special authority being applied for- think Blue Cross and now Green Shield- I'm sure others will follow.

I'm hoping you are staring to see your issue! Your meds may cost you hundreds per month- maybe long term dependant on your income/job.
As diabetics you need to factor this in and do some extensive research. There are many Canadians who don't/can't take medication because they just can't afford them.
Look at Pacific Blue Cross | BC Life to see if you can work out costs.

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

That's very helpful. Thanks. I have been looking at that and certainly the diabetes meds are covered so will check the others

I'm abit confused though. On the deductible, what are they deducting it from? You pay 100% , then when do you know when they start deducting ?

Sorry this is probably a really daft question to those that have this as part of daily life , but I can't get it!

Re: NHS repeat prescriptions and dealing with 90 wait in Canada
 

It depends on your income- as Aviator says.
They go off your Canadian tax return from 2 years ago.
You have to pay all your deductible off before you get a percentage decrease
So say your deductible is $1000- you pay meds to value of $1000- then the next meds maybe you pay 70% of cost to the next tier etc

Try https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmac...lculator.html- entering only for projected income

see also http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/he...ents-of-canada

And http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/hea...re_regular.pdf