# American trying to find some info on medication prices.



## JPWx (Jan 26, 2020)

Hello, I am an American looking to move to Spain in a year or two with my wife. She will be working as an autónomo and I will be non-lucrative for the first year and then get on her visa after that. 

I am disabled in the USA due to Epilepsy and also have Psoriasis. I wouldn't recommend either. (j/k) Since my epelpsy is not controlled by medication or an implant (I have daily partial seizures) I am currently on a few meds that are ridiculously expensive and will require a prescription in Spain. The medication I take for psoriasis it even more expensive and will also require a prescription.

Now that I have probably shared a bit much my question: Can anyone provide prices for what either of these medications will cost in Spain once I am eligible for public healthcare in year 2:

Fycompa 12mg 28tabs 
Humira 40mg injection 2x month

When I look at Vademecum it shows retail prices of 
€163.30 for Fycompa
€1127.57 for Humira

I am unable to figure out if this is the 100% cost or the 40 to 60% that is normally paid. A

Any help is greatly appreciated. Even If someone is willing to give a name and price for a more expensive drug it will help me to figure out the cost.

Sorry for the length of the post! 
Thanks 
John.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

The prices quoted on Vademecum are the 100% costs of the medications.

Will you be able to get private health insurance for your NLV application which includes your pre-existing conditions? If your insurer excludes them the policy may not be accepted for the purposes of the visa.


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## JPWx (Jan 26, 2020)

Thanks Lynn. I have found a private policy for my first year that will cover pre-existing and medication. It aint cheap but will still be cheaper than what I pay for medicare. Premiums move up pretty quickly as I get older so I cant stay on it for too long.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

JPWx said:


> I am an American looking to move to Spain in a year or two with my wife. She will be working as an autónomo and I will be non-lucrative for the first year and then get on her visa after that.


A lot can happen in two years however a present there is no visa which allows non EU nationals to come to live in Spain and work as autonomo.



JPWx said:


> I have found a private policy for my first year that will cover pre-existing and medication.


Pre-existing AND medication, are you certain?

There are a few who could be very interested in that if true.


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## JPWx (Jan 26, 2020)

/SNIP(


MataMata said:


> A lot can happen in two years however a present there is no visa which allows non EU nationals to come to live in Spain and work as autonomo.
> 
> Pre-existing AND medication, are you certain?
> 
> There are a few who could be very interested in that if true.


www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/products/longterm/xplorer-5-overview.cfm
It's not guaranteed that they will accept pre-exitsting cond. Requires continuous coverage. Broker I was talking with said underwriter told her I was good to go. Covers meds up to $1k, but you can kick it up to $20k for a couple hundred a month. I take a lot of meds so it would be worth it in my case. I was going through www.gninsurance.com


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

MataMata said:


> A lot can happen in two years however a present there is no visa which allows non EU nationals to come to live in Spain and work as autonomo.


Actually there is an autonomo visa. It's called a visado por trabajo de cuenta propia. But I've read that it's very complicated to get and requires submitting among other things an approved business plan and a list of clients in Spain. Basically you have to show that setting up your business in Spain would be good for Spain.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

JPWx said:


> /SNIP/
> 
> 
> www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/products/longterm/xplorer-5-overview.cfm
> It's not guaranteed that they will accept pre-exitsting cond. Requires continuous coverage. Broker I was talking with said underwriter told her I was good to go. Covers meds up to $1k, but you can kick it up to $20k for a couple hundred a month. I take a lot of meds so it would be worth it in my case. I was going through www.gninsurance.com


Surely this coverage for medications would be based on the premise that there is a risk a policyholder MIGHT need them during the term of the policy, whereas with pre-existing conditions like yours it is something that you would DEFINITELY be claiming for. The cost of the two medications you have quoted would be 15,480E for a year. It would not make good business sense for the company to guarantee coverage of that amount for a couple of hundred a month.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MataMata said:


> A lot can happen in two years however a present there is no visa which allows non EU nationals to come to live in Spain and work as autonomo.
> 
> Pre-existing AND medication, are you certain?
> 
> There are a few who could be very interested in that if true.


There IS a visa for 3rd country citizens to work as self-employed/autónomo. http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/LONDRES/en/Consulado/Documents/TRP ES-EN.pdf


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

JPWx said:


> Hello, I am an American looking to move to Spain in a year or two with my wife. She will be working as an autónomo and I will be non-lucrative for the first year and then get on her visa after that.
> 
> I am disabled in the USA due to Epilepsy and also have Psoriasis. I wouldn't recommend either. (j/k) Since my epelpsy is not controlled by medication or an implant (I have daily partial seizures) I am currently on a few meds that are ridiculously expensive and will require a prescription in Spain. The medication I take for psoriasis it even more expensive and will also require a prescription.
> 
> ...


If your wife does indeed secure a self-ermployment visa- not an easy feat - , once here & established, you would be able to access state healthcare by registering as her dependant. 

However, you will need private health insurance in order to secure the visa in the first place.


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