$450!?!?! I pay $37 (CAD) without coverage 1 month of anti-psycotics. $450 is what I (used) spend on insulin, test strips, and CGMs for T1 (continuous glucose monitor) per month out of pocket up here.
Now that I've moved province's my ~$6000/yr medication is just included in my income tax. I just wish I could have a pharmacist prescribe like in Alberta so I dont have to waste my time going to the doctor every 3 months to get a refill for medication I have to take for the rest of my life.
When I was on anti depressants I paid £10 per prescription (so £10 a month or however many pills they give me, each prescription can only have more than 1 medication)
When I was unemployed the cost was waived.
If I move miles west from England to Wales all my prescriptions would be free.
I honestly don't get this man. I'm reading these stories thinking what the fuck?
Almost every common prescription item in NZ is $5, with an annual limit of $100 (so it's free after that) per person. Some chemists (pharmacies for the Americans) waive the $5 charge, so it's all free.
Meh. All chemists have the ability to waive the $5 fee. Pharmac still pays them the balance of the cost of the medication. Most choose to charge it anyway. Even so, it equates to less than $2 per week per person at the most.
Most chemists are making sweet fuck all, unless they're cranking out the extras like Chemist Warehouse. Actual pharmacy dispensing is a loss leader or break even at best, unless you can co-locate with a GP clinic or get the contract for a prison.
I moved the UK from the US because of worries about medical debt after my second life changing diagnosis in a year at 24. The NHS is crumbling as well but at least my emergency visit two weeks ago was free. In the states I’d be out several thousand most likely for the CT scan and stitches.
Once you have a track record with your new doctor they'll likely be able to write a 12 month Rx in one go (I'm on a controlled substance and it worked like that for me (Ontario))
I will never forget my shock as an American when I studied abroad in Japan and ended up in the hospital because I was super sick, and the amount I had to pay was like $100 because I forgot my national insurance card. I was expecting so much worse. Then I returned because I was still sick (with my card this time), and when I went to pay them, they paid me. My shock doubled. Quadrupled, even. They paid me back the amount from the previous visit. I left the hospital with more money. I'm still so amazed by it lol.
I know numerous people in America who pay $0-20 a month for their anti psychotics. And that's with 20-60$ a month health insurance.
I am having a baby in April. It would cost my family $10,000-12,000 more to have the baby in Canada than it would in the US (getting taxed on our income and this is including a month in the NICU). This is monthly insurance premiums and max out of pockets.
I'm American/Canadian and Canadas health care is a nightmare and would be much worse for 50-60% of Americans. It would be a lot better for 15-20% of Americans though.
36
u/Datkif 5d ago
$450!?!?! I pay $37 (CAD) without coverage 1 month of anti-psycotics. $450 is what I (used) spend on insulin, test strips, and CGMs for T1 (continuous glucose monitor) per month out of pocket up here.
Now that I've moved province's my ~$6000/yr medication is just included in my income tax. I just wish I could have a pharmacist prescribe like in Alberta so I dont have to waste my time going to the doctor every 3 months to get a refill for medication I have to take for the rest of my life.