Big problem..family member needs medication

[Ryan76 46]

So I don't know what the heck to do right now...and my wife and I are really frustrated with her mom and sister.

 

Long story short, my wife and I have an infant baby and we wanted her Mom,  who lives in Colombia,  to come stay with us for 6 months to care her while we are at work.  She has been with us since June.  Yesterday out of the blue she tells us that she is out of her cholesterol medication. 

 

This is the thing that drives me crazy about her family.  While they are great people and I love them, the lack of planning things out just frustrates me beyond belief.  We have told them over and over again that when they come they should get some type of travel medical insurance, and they didn't.  And before she came we were told by the mom and my wife's sister that yes, she has enough medication.  Yet here we are....she doesn't fly home until Dec 3rd and she has no medication.

 

So we are in a desperate situation to get her the 'statin' medication she needs.  And with a new baby, hospital bills, upcoming daycare costs, etc we don't exactly have extra money right now. 

 

Has anyone dealt with anything like this before?  Right now I am at work and my wife is supposed to be calling a local clinic that mostly serves latinos and immigrants, so we are starting there.  But like I said, I was curious if anyone has been through anything like this.  My big fear is that we are going to have to start from scratch.  With NO insurance, having to setup a Dr appt, do a blood test, buy the meds, etc etc and I can't even imagine the cost.

 

Any advice or calming words would be much appreciated 

[MaxP22 186]

B2 is for tourism, coming for 6 months to look after a baby whilst the parents are at work so they don't need to employ someone else could very well be considered working. I wonder what she said as purpose of visit when asked at the POE.

 

Use the money you saved not having to pay for child care costs for her medication.

 

[powerpuff 6,603]

I recall @JeanneAdil dealing with buying medication for her MIL when she was visiting the US. They had to pay few hundred dollars if I remember correctly.

 

The way I see it is that you have two choices:  you buy medication here and pay however much it costs or cut the trip short and fly your MIL back to Colombia

[Ryan76 46]

11 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

I recall @JeanneAdil dealing with buying medication for her MIL when she was visiting the US. They had to pay few hundred dollars if I remember correctly.

 

The way I see it is that you have two choices:  you buy medication here and pay however much it costs or cut the trip short and fly your MIL back to Colombia

Okay but how do you just "buy" a non OTC drug?  Our big worry isn't paying a few hundred for her medication, it's getting roped into a doctor's visit, blood tests, etc . Which God knows how much at would cost without Insurance

[powerpuff 6,603]

1 minute ago, Ryan76 said:

Okay but how do you just "buy" a non OTC drug?  Our big worry isn't paying a few hundred for her medication, it's getting roped into a doctor's visit, blood tests, etc . Which God knows how much at would cost without Insurance

Well, yes, you need to see a doctor first for them to prescribe the medication and for you to actually buy it out of pocket at the pharmacy since there’s no insurance. Sorry, I thought that was self evident… Hopefully @JeanneAdil provides her perspective. I recall they made an appointment with a doctor after which they could buy the medicine.

[Adventine 3,195]

Ouch. It's one of those situations where it's tempting to say "Your lack of planning is not my emergency."

 

Since this is primarily your MIL's problem, how about letting her take the lead in figuring out how to get her meds? She can look up clinics serving low-income Latinos, she can ask someone in Colombia to bring/mail them to her, or if the need is truly dire, she flies back to Colombia and restocks. 

 

Irresponsible people usually depend on the responsible ones to get them out of trouble. Up to you to decide where your boundaries are with your MIL.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

14 minutes ago, Ryan76 said:

Okay but how do you just "buy" a non OTC drug?  Our big worry isn't paying a few hundred for her medication, it's getting roped into a doctor's visit, blood tests, etc . Which God knows how much at would cost without Insurance

“Roped in”? Surely you don’t expect a doctor to prescribe on someone’s say-so?

 

As someone said above you are saving money on childcare, so use that. Lesson learned for next time, is you take charge of arranging travel insurance. I like Adventine’s approach too except in this case it just sounds like your MIL wouldn’t take charge of her own situation. Actually - maybe she feels it is actually up to you as she is providing unpaid childcare? Not helpful right now but definitely a few hindsight lessons to learn for next time.
 

I’m sorry. I know you want calming words, but uninsured + medical needs in the US is just not a very calming situation. You’re just going to have to bite the bullet it seems.

Edited October 17, 2022 by SusieQQQ

[Boiler 45,311]

As an aside Travel Insurance would not cover this

 

Trip to the Doctor or trip to the Airport seem the choices.

[Mike E 11,739]

She is out of medicine.  
 

Realistically this is going to take 2 weeks and  thousands of dollars to get a prescription refilled.

 

Meanwhile her health is declining and her risk of a cardiac event rises.  
 

Assume  she can’t take her prescription bottle to a local drug store which is willing to dispense a 2 week supply (figure about $100 or less for a 2 week supply for a generic)  while she is getting blood tested, echocardiogramed etc and examined.  
 

Then situation requires urgent action. 
 

1. Send her back to Colombia now. Mom won’t line it but actions have consequences.  Or

 

2. She calls her doctor in Colombia to get  the prescription refilled in the Colobua at the pharmacy nearest to the airport.  One you  flies to Colombia to get it and bring it back.  I’ve done weekend mileage runs to Panama  City.  No big deal.  

[Timona 4,207]

I remember you. You have another bomb shell?? Your in laws seem to be the "surprise, surprise" type. Last time, they wanted to immigrate. Heheh

[Lemonslice 4,796]

5 minutes ago, Mike E said:

She is out of medicine.  
 

Realistically this is going to take 2 weeks and  thousands of dollars to get a prescription refilled.

 

Meanwhile her health is declining and her risk of a cardiac event rises.  
 

Assume  she can’t take her prescription bottle to a local drug store which is willing to dispense a 2 week supply (figure about $100 or less for a 2 week supply for a generic)  while she is getting blood tested, echocardiogramed etc and examined.  
 

Then situation requires urgent action. 
 

1. Send her back to Colombia now. Mom won’t line it but actions have consequences.  Or

 

2. She calls her doctor in Colombia to get  the prescription refilled in the Colobua at the pharmacy nearest to the airport.  One you  flies to Colombia to get it and bring it back.  I’ve done weekend mileage runs to Panama  City.  No big deal.  

Let's add option 3, and 4.

 

3. She calls her doctor in Colombia to get  the prescription refilled in Colombia by a relative who will then courrier the medication to your address.  Include a copy of the prescription, and only original packaging, in the box.

 

4. Visit a(nother) country where statins are sold over the counter, bring back a small quantity to last until her departure. 

 

Or 5...

5. Call her doctor, statins might be facultative/nice to have medication right now.  Feed her a vegan diet until she goes back home. 

 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, Lemonslice said:

Let's add option 3, and 4.

 

3. She calls her doctor in Colombia to get  the prescription refilled in Colombia by a relative who will then courrier the medication to your address.  Include a copy of the prescription, and only original packaging, in the box.

I considered and rejected as couriers might reject medication and CBP might stall it in customs. Last thing I got from Canada was personal letter that CBP ripped open … they don’t call it British Colombia for nothing …. And resealed with CBP tape. 
 

 

1 minute ago, Lemonslice said:

 

4. Visit a(nother) country where statins are sold over the counter, bring back a small quantity to last until her departure.

Considered and rejected because the goal is to get something other than fake drugs. 
 

1 minute ago, Lemonslice said:

 

Or 5...

5. Call her doctor, statins might be facultative/nice to have medication right now.  Feed her a vegan diet until she goes back home. 

 

 

Great point.  But definitely call her doctor who might very well recommend the options we’ve all offered or even something else. But yes this should start with her own real doctor. 

[Boiler 45,311]

She has been here 4 months, a Border run seems very risky

[Ryan76 46]

22 minutes ago, MaxP22 said:

B2 is for tourism, coming for 6 months to look after a baby whilst the parents are at work so they don't need to employ someone else could very well be considered working. I wonder what she said as purpose of visit when asked at the POE.

 

Use the money you saved not having to pay for child care costs for her medication.

 

It's not that simple.  I didn't explain all this in the OP because i thout it was irrelevant, but, this is her first Grandchild.  She was going to come here for a few months regardless of if she watched the baby or not.  And at least with Colombians, visiting family for weeks or months at a time is not uncommon.

 

We did not "save" anything by having her mother here...if anything it has cost us slightly more than childcare. Which is why we might be in a bind depending on how much this ends up costing.  Her mom has no money.  We pay for everything...plane tickets, food alone is costing us close to an extra $75 per week (at least) in this economy.  Plus everything else a person needs for daily living.

 

The reason she's here is because it's a family thing, not because we were trying to save on childcare. 

 

We will pay for the medication, obviously.  That's not the issue. The issue is what's the easiest way to get the medication?  Are we going to have to jump through all the hoops of a Dr appt, blood tests, etc?  Because that's where we run into issues.  Without insurance, simple stuff can end up costing a fortune.

[Mike E 11,739]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

She has been here 4 months, a Border run seems very risky

If they are OTC, OP or spouse can do the border run.