coileurs:
I'm thinking about taking a sabbatical and traveling around Europe for a year. The only thing holding me back is that I have a good insurance plan currently, and my medications are $30 a month (complera).
I'm hoping to live and work for a few months at a time in various cities across Europe for the next year. I'm wondering if anyone has done something like this and can offer any advice on alternatives to insurance or programs that are offered to keep me on my meds.
Jeff G:
I really cant offer the answer to your question but I will caution you to do your homework if your intention is to change insurance company's or cancel the good insurance you already have . I made the mistake of allowing my insurance to lapse when I was young and the consequences of doing so follows me to this day .
I was recently investigating buying meds abroad and I found I could afford to buy some meds out of pocket because they are considerable less costly in some country's .
Welcome to the forum , hope you get what you need and have a great adventure .
Buckmark:
--- Quote from: coileurs on August 22, 2013, 01:08:23 am ---I'm thinking about taking a sabbatical and traveling around Europe for a year. The only thing holding me back is that I have a good insurance plan currently, and my medications are $30 a month (complera).
I'm hoping to live and work for a few months at a time in various cities across Europe for the next year. I'm wondering if anyone has done something like this and can offer any advice on alternatives to insurance or programs that are offered to keep me on my meds.
--- End quote ---
I don't know where you live, but I assume you are currently living somewhere outside Europe (US, Canada, Asia?) and are looking towards Europe as a change of scenery. Putting the question of meds aside for the moment, if you are planning to work in another country you should first make sure your work Visa and/or any necessary required work permits are in order. There has been quite a crackdown in the past few years over Visas and work permits especially, partly because it is so easy for many of us to work remotely and stay connected, partly because the economic downturn has made governments very protective of jobs. If you have this all in order, that's more than half the battle.
As far as the meds are concerned, I'm hoping some of our other members will chime in here. Jeff G makes a good point about being wary of letting your insurance lapse. Others may have some information on how to obtain meds in Europe. Some have had friends in the US fill the prescriptions, and then ship them to Europe, but there's always a gamble with customs when you do that. The only good news is that meds have *got* to be cheaper in Europe, than in the US (if that's where you are currently).
Welcome to the forums...
Henry
mecch:
Meds are very expensive in Western Europe.
Most western european countries have socialised medicine so the patient isn't paying the expensive retail price but the state is, of course!
The originating Pharma companies (such as Merck, etc.) are not offering much difference in pricing to rich countries.
I know that pharma companies do offer radically lower prices - they have tiers of pricing (countries are put into "categories" 1, 2, etc,) to cover the range from very poor countries, through "developing", then rich. This isn't at all my knowledge area but there are interesting reports on it, for instance here: http://utw.msfaccess.org
(Some people assume that the only drugs that are cheap in countries that do have very low prices, are "generics". But thats not always the case.)
Anyway, if you are walking into a pharmacy in Western Europe and paying retail price, I wouldn't expect any bargains. Maybe a bit cheaper than this or that other rich country, but still quite impossible out of pocket....
coileurs:
Thanks for replies. Couple of things I should clarify:
I'm from the US. Currently in NYC.
I work fulltime now, but my goal is to work for the next year as a consultant, picking up contract jobs and working remotely for the most part.
There are a lot of work opportunities in my field in Europe (and Asia)
My health insurance now is great, and if I were to pay for Complera out of pocket it would be something like 2k per month. However, there are several programs that help low income, and/or part-time employee HIV patients here in NYC. I think most of them are based on proof of income.
I was under the impression that some european countries have socialist health care, and similar programs that would make paying for HIV meds possible.
I would also gauge which cities to work in based on how affordable HIV healthcare would be.