A heads up to those who delayed vaccinations till America.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

I just had to share the ridiculousness of what has just happened to us,

I decided with hubby's consent to delay the vaccinations i would need to adjust status for various reasons, firstly my doctors in England were guarded by receptionists who thought their chief position was to stop people seeing them and the doctors were less than efficient themselves. Secondly i thought vaccinations in America on Hubby's insurance would be cheaper than civil surgeon in UK. (Apparently that's not always true, even though HPV was gunna be 120gbp per shot)

So finally we have me on his insurance and we are able to get a doctors appointment. forewarning the doctors office of the three vaccinations i would need, HPV MMR AND TETANUS/DIPHTHERIA. Well the forewarning apparently was not effective enough because when we got to the appointment we were informed they only had the tet/dip one in stock. so they gave us that and we were given prescriptions for go get the others from the pharmacy round the corner and we will bring them back at the other appointments.

So here is what we are naffed off about, we went to pay and she takes the insurance card and then informs us the vaccinations are not covered on our insurance and the two ended up costing us well over $200 (HPV alone was $154.)

So Hubby phoned the insurance peeps to ask why???? And here is the kicker...... the tet/dip is covered because the doctor stocked it at his surgery, but because he didn't have the others in stock they are not covered, and we are stuck with the cost. Had he stocked them then they would have been covered especially since i am under 27 for HPV.

We fail to see the difference but there you go,check the small print before you decide to where to get your vaccinations from. there are some really bizarre clauses our there

[Ed+Cindy 1]

Its not uncommon for vaccines for immigration or travel to be excluded from insurance coverage. They are 'optional' as far as health goes.

Edited May 19, 2009 by Ed+Cindy

[Hannah+Vito 0]

Its not uncommon for vaccines for immigration or travel to be excluded from insurance coverage. They are 'optional' as far as health goes.

it wasn't because it was for immigration it was because our doctor didnt have it in stock and we have to go get it from the pharmacy. they acctualy confirmed that had he stocked it iand because i am under 27 it would have covered them

[MonkeyJuice 3]

This is good to know. I only need the MMR but I'll defo get it done before I leave.

Thanks for that.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

i thinks its ok to get it done here just check that if your doctor doesn't have it stocked that they wont penalize you for it. i don't understand how its different him already having the vaccine and him writing a prescription? but there you go.

[rebeccajo 14]

Welcome to healthcare in America!

[minnew 4]

I know what you mean, I was so caught off guard at the cost of prescriptions in the states. When I worked in the U.S. my employer plan did not cover birth control pills....out of pocket for one month even the generic stuff was around $30 or more bucks a month. In Canada my health plan covers half, so around $14. I can go to planned parenthood in Canada and get them for $7 a month with a prescription! And you wonder why the rate of unintended pregnancies is high as well as the abortion rate!

[Kar98 0]

I know what you mean, I was so caught off guard at the cost of prescriptions in the states. When I worked in the U.S. my employer plan did not cover birth control pills....out of pocket for one month even the generic stuff was around $30 or more bucks a month. In Canada my health plan covers half, so around $14. I can go to planned parenthood in Canada and get them for $7 a month with a prescription! And you wonder why the rate of unintended pregnancies is high as well as the abortion rate!

Or you could go to Walgreens, sign up for a $20/year rebate plan, which brings down the BC pills to $12/month.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hannah--you got/bought a prescription from a pharmacy. If you don't have prescription medicine coverage on the insurance plan, then it makes sense that you had to pay for that prescription. It just like if you had to go buy an antibiotic as far as the paperwork. If the doctor gives it from off his shelf, then it's covered by the doctor coverage. It sounds like your insurance will pay the doctor, but not Walgreens. Also when you buy medicines, call and ask the prices before you decide where to buy. The difference between Walgreens, CVS and Walmart pharmacy can be astounding. I did that recently for a presciption and Walgreens was around $28 and Walmart was $4.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Nich-Nick

[minnew 4]

I know what you mean, I was so caught off guard at the cost of prescriptions in the states. When I worked in the U.S. my employer plan did not cover birth control pills....out of pocket for one month even the generic stuff was around $30 or more bucks a month. In Canada my health plan covers half, so around $14. I can go to planned parenthood in Canada and get them for $7 a month with a prescription! And you wonder why the rate of unintended pregnancies is high as well as the abortion rate!

Or you could go to Walgreens, sign up for a $20/year rebate plan, which brings down the BC pills to $12/month.

I wish there would have been one in the area I was living in at the time.

[kaffy 2]

If you have prescription coverage on your insurance I suggest finding out what their participating retail pharmacies are. I only pay $10/3 month supply of generic meds (including birth control) when I shop at the participating pharmacy (it's $5/month supply elsewhere so I'm basically getting 1 month free which is great & makes it cheaper than back in Australia)

[aidan80 9]

Welcome to healthcare in America!

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

I got all my shots before I left.. only thing I had to pay for her shot wise was $50 for the doctor here in the US to sign off on a form (this was during AOS) saying I had the flu or something like that when I was younger! $50 to scribble like a 3 year old?.. I shoulda been a doctor..

[Gemmie 142]

I only need the HPV and we're preparing for the hassle of civil surgeons requiring the entire medical to be done again for extra $ .. even though I have the paperwork/x-ray from London? Don't really understand it, but there you go.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

In the future, get vaxed from your local health department. Much, much cheaper, particularly for children, but also adults.