# Prescriptions?



## HombreEPGDL (Jan 24, 2008)

I will be moving to GDL in May as I am retiring as a teacher. I will have a health insurance plan here in the US that I will pay like $240.00 a month for and where I can get 3 months supply of prescriptions for less and also health care. My questions is how will I be able to obtain the prescriptions without having to come back and pick them up? Is there anyone else in this situation? Thanks!


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

HombreEPGDL said:


> I will be moving to GDL in May as I am retiring as a teacher. I will have a health insurance plan here in the US that I will pay like $240.00 a month for and where I can get 3 months supply of prescriptions for less and also health care. My questions is how will I be able to obtain the prescriptions without having to come back and pick them up? Is there anyone else in this situation? Thanks!


If you have a U.S. plan that gives you access to prescription drugs "...for less....". then the question is , less than what? The second question that arises from your posting is, what do you mean by the notion that $240USD provides you with "health care,"

You will almost certainly have to return to the U.S. to pick up these prescription drugs but the question is why would you do that?

Some things you should know:

I have unlimited major medical care insurance through AXA in Mexico that provides me with hospital care in the finest private hospitals in Mexico providing for private luxurious hospital rooms and the services of the nation´s best physicians and hospital staffs and, even though I will be turning 67 in a week, my premium comes to only the equivalent of a little over $200USD a month at today´s exchange rates. That coverage includes, in addition to some of the finest hospital facilities in the world, emergency air ambulance service anywhere in Mexico if needed and, if I happen to be out of Mexico anywhere in the world, $50,000USD (yes, USD - not Mexican Pesos) in emergency medical benefits which include emergency care and air ambulance service back to Mexico and a city of my choice for continued care at top hospitals in Guadalajara, Mexico City or any location I desire. 

I have lived all over the world but primarily in such cities as San Francisco and Paris and can tell you that the top private hospitals in Mexico for average people beat anything I´ve seen in those cities or anywhere else. Also, my medical insurance in California was through HMOs where I was treated as a number tacked onto the foot of my bed which is a cheesy way to be treated in some ward full of sick people vs. a luxurious private suite in Mexico with one´s own satellite television service and the best hospital food I´ve ever tasted.

As to prescripption drugs, almost all prescription drugs require no prescription in Mexico unless the drugs are classified as narcotics. Not only that, the drugs are generally cheaper in Mexico than in the U.S. and, if one is a holder of the nationally available discount card for the elderly (over 60), one gets a discount from the normal price at selected pharmacies. Here in Chiapas, I receive a 10% discount on already inexpensive prescription drugs at any number of large retail pharmacies from WalMart to Chedraui superstores.

You need to look into whether or not you need this U.S. insurance program in Mexico where the costs and availability of major medical care are very different and better than care you are receiving up there in the U.S. and, normally, much cheaper . 

I´ll bet you will find that this insurance program you have is not competitive down here once you have gone through your initial 90 day supply of drugs. You also eed to make sure your plan even covers your hospitalization in Mexico and, if so, what is covered.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I'll second that opinion. I have also been the 'guest' at a few of Guadalajara's hospitals, as well as those in the USA. I'll take Guadalajara in a heartbeat since they made sure I still have one. The emphasis here is on CARE with respect and attention to detail. I find infection control measures in these better hospitals to be far superior to anything I ever saw in many years of calling on hospitals and clinics in the USA as a technical representative.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

I've met people who have had medications shipped via FedEx or DHL. There are some health plans that make extremely expensive medications affordable, even by Mexican standards. However, you would have to find a doctor in the US who would write renewal prescriptions for you without seeing you. Many won't do that.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It is, technically, illegal to ship medications or medical supplies into Mexico without a license. Some do get through but you might have expensive medications confiscated by customs. Here, at Lake Chapala, we do have one mailing service which does have a license to receive such shipments but membership is quite expensive at almost $400 USD per year and they will not re-ship to another address in Mexico.


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