Health support for us seniors

[William parr]

Okay this has probably been hashed over several times but I’m new to the cf.Question #1-How does cruisers keep their prescriptions filled and received.And does every one keep their medical records on board are have access to them.And has anyone ever used Medicare for emergency reasons any other countries?Would appreciate the feed back.

[sailorboy1]

In the US I have my prescriptions at Walgreens and they are everywhere. The problem is normally in the timing the insurance has this fear I’m suddenly not to need. But if wanted I could get aroun$ that by paying of pocket for the meds for the $40.

I can get my records online as well as request renewals.

[transmitterdan]

Medicare outside US is extremely limited.

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11...nited-Stat.pdf

[William parr]

[QUOTE=William parr;2916081]Okay this has probably been hashed over several times but I’m new to the cf.Question #1-How does cruisers keep their prescriptions filled and received.And does every one keep their medical records on board are have access to them.And has anyone ever used Medicare for emergency reasons any other countries?Would appreciate the feed back.Also I was inquiring about your medication when cruising outside U.S. waters.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by William parr

Also I was inquiring about your medication when cruising outside U.S. waters.

I'm sure it's not news to you that Joint Commission International-accredited medical care is available, at prices lower than in the US, in many jurisdictions including in Malaysia. See: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2910930

Sweden, which has a regulatory requirement to be cost-competitive market for pharmaceuticals sold to its citizens, and the World Health Organisation have compared the price of pharmaceuticals across selected European jurisdictions; the results are on the net.

Various US-based NGOs have done comparisons of pharmaceuticals across the US and selected other jurisdictions. I don't think any of those comparisons have suggested that the US market is the lowest price source; for one such comparison, see: https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/u...gher-vs-world/

[RaymondR]

If you are in Australia ask your doctor to mark repeat prescriptions as "Regulation 24". It allows you to fill the original and all the repeats in one visit to the chemists. You might also ask your doctor if a telephone request is OK and then provide a fax number and mailing address for the chemist you wish to fill the prescription.

[belizesailor]

Where do you plan to cruise?

The answer makes a huge difference. In many venues outside the USA health insurance/healthcare/meds are much more affordable and red tape is much less too. So affordable in many venues that insurance/Medicare becomes less of a concern.

There are also a number of existing threads on this and related topics.

[William parr]

Would be random countries just researching for when that dream time comes to do my (best)to have the most relevant things in place.Thank You

[belizesailor]

Ok. Well if you want to randomize in the W Carib then there are several countries w very good and inexpensive healthcare.

Guatemala tops our list by far (having lived/cruised/traveled all over the region for over 15 years now). Belize would be near the bottom of that list.

[s/v Moondancer]

We cruised the Caribbean and the Pacific for 11 years. I had Medicare with supplemental plan F which gives me $50,000 of benefit off-shore and my wife had Obama Care. We both had DAN repatriation insurance.

We paid cash for all the minor stuff and when I suspected a serious problem I flew back to Miami for treatment.

Medical care is very sporadic outside the US and as a senior doctor I can tell you that the widely held belief that foreign care is better than US medical care is categorically wrong. A friend who broke her back and was in a Caribbean hospital would have become a paraplegic had she not been medically repatriated back to the US. I have organized three medical repatriations from the Caribbean, two using DAN insurance, and all three would have had a poor outcome had they remained in the Caribbean.

In some Latin American countries it is not much cheaper, a friend got a $43,000 bill for a hospitalization in Panama.

My advice is get DAN repatriation insurance and if you can afford it buy a policy that covers you world wide including the US

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Where do you plan to cruise?

The answer makes a huge difference. In many venues outside the USA health insurance/healthcare/meds are much more affordable and red tape is much less too. So affordable in many venues that insurance/Medicare becomes less of a concern.

There are also a number of existing threads on this and related topics.

At the very lest it would be most venues. In fact, I wonder where healthcare would be as expensive as in the US.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

SNIP

Medical care is very sporadic outside the US and as a senior doctor I can tell you that the widely held belief that foreign care is better than US medical care is categorically wrong.

SNIP

Truth be told medical care is very sporadic inside the US as well. I developed a DVT a while back. When I went to the doctor she spent maybe two minutes looking at my swollen leg and my non swollen leg, called in an LPN and said do the paperwork and get him to the emergency room now. (Of course I have first rate access to medical care). Went to the emergency room, showed them a big envelope with the paperwork and was sent to the head of the line and saw a doctor who consulted with a vascular surgeon. Bottom line is I had a good outcome. But as I left the hospital around 10:00PM (they did lots of tests and had to wait for meds to be dispensed) and drove out of the parking lot there were three people basically camping on the sidewalk in 30 degree weather waiting to get sick enough to be readmitted to the hospital (they did not have first rate access to medical care).

There is a misconception that if you have insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid things are OK. Problem is that many doctors don't accept Medicaid, a few more but not all don't accept Medicare, and insurance acceptance can also be a problem. Cuba is often used as an example of a health care system superior to the US; and they do have lots of good stats. This is because there is a lot of basic health care available to most all; in fact sometimes it is mandated. Try and say you don't want to be vaccinated and you will have a rather short conversation with the secret police about spending time in jail, or worse. On the other hand I know a guy who got bit by a big barracuda , went to the doctor, and they sewed up the wound with stainless steel. True it healed but there was a small loss of mobility and a huge scar. In the US modern staples leave almost no scar and mobility would not have been limited. I know which outcome I would like if it was me.

As a rule if you have access to health care in the US it is top notch, but if not you may be better off outside the US where health care is cheaper and more widespread; but not up to US standards.

[Macblaze]

I'm going to rephrase the OP's question because I'm curious too. Let's say I am leaving Canada along the west coast and intend to head south to Guatamala then across to the Marquesas—it will take 2-3 years. Let's say I also have an ongoing prescriptions for blood pressure, gout and cholesterol (or anything similar). What's the best way of handling this? Convince my original doctor to give me unlimited refills? Visit doctors along the way and hope they a will write new scrips? Should I have printouts of all my relevant records if I have any major conditions? Is there some sort of universal digital format or archive?

[s/v Moondancer]

Mac,
90% of the pharmacies in the Pacific will fill a script from your old bottle. Otherwise you visit a local doctor and he and the drugs are often cheaper than US co-pay.

Having records, X-ray copies etc is a good idea.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by AiniA

At the very lest it would be most venues. In fact, I wonder where healthcare would be as expensive as in the US.

Yes, hard to find anywhere equal to USA in expense, but not hard to meet or exceed the quality of care.

Our experiences in Guatemala over about a decade have been excellent, first world level of care available, via a much more patient care oriented system/culture, at a fraction of the cost.

Panama has been OK, but not up to the standards of Guate (but in all fairness most our healthcare here has not been in Panama City, but second tier towns like David), and a bit more expensive..still dramatically less than USA.