This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hi everyone
After 18 years of living in lovely Canada, I just can't take the cold anymore. Now that I have MS and know that heat might bother me, I have decided to move to a warmer climate. That's not so dumb if you knew that it was always my dream to live somewhere warmer so that I could go out whenever I want to. It's getting pretty warm around here but I also want an ocean around and some mountains. Naturally, I picked California. My mommy is also there and so that's also a huge bonus. I leaving for a month long vacation there with my fiance on Aug.1. My only issue is that I am clueless and therefore scared to death about the lack of coverage I may have for my drugs. In Canada I pay $25/mon for my drugs. My question to you guys is this:
where is the best website/info center I could go to to get more info on coverage in the US? Any suggestions on companies you like? I am an RN and I hope that I will be well enough to wrok for three months so i get my coverage before I have a relapse.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanx
NN

ya know look into united health care..they have a couple different things that they are doing now with their insurance...so check that one..other then that check in the state i am sure there is stuff on the interent for california try health care and california together...might give ya a idea of stuff....

chris

I live in Portland, Oregon and its funny because I was thinking about moving to Canada. I hate the heat and lately it's been unbearable here. That, and I understand that once I become a canadiian citizen after 5 years I can like you only have to pay $25 / mo for drugs versus the $200 something odd a month I have to pay now. I'm thinking Vancouver B.C.

Dear guest,
Yes, Canada is great in that sense. I live in Alberta and always wanted to move to Vancouver as well but once this stupid MS thing happend, I realized that I would not be able to stand the rain. Few months ago it rained in Vancouver for a whole month. I am used to sunny Alberta. It's cold in the winter with lots of sun. I never get any of it but I see it pretty much everyday.
Another thing that I wanted to let you know is that Alberta is the richest province in Canada at this time because of the oil. I know that each province has a different coverage for MS drugs. In Alberta 70% is paid by Bluecross for which I pay $25 and 30% is covered by the province. I am not sure how it is in BC. I am sure it is pretty similar but do check into it. You can call bluecross and aske them. I beleive it is called Pacific Blue cross there and here is the number 1-888-275-4672. I can have coverage in California for up to a year from Alberta and afeter that I am on my own.

hi I LOVE BC! i will live there again, no doubt about it! but you have to pay premium for health care on a sliding scale. and they kept sending me premium bills to my ONTARIO address, YEARS after i moved away, and I couldn't use the 800 number to call them coz it wouldn't work from outside BC! it dragged on ridiculously long. i never had to get expensive drugs there so don't know how that would work.

also in bc when it rains you go up the mountain above the cloud and smile in the sunshine. mind you employment at one of the local mountains usually helped me in that respect! (but sometimes it's not high enough and you only end up in the middle of the cloud) and in my case i learned to appreciate the overcast days in winter (weather's great in summer) because it gets coooold when there is no nice cloudy blanket!

in ontario, when i would have started rebif, my student health coverage would have paid for the drugs. before i realized i could get that coverage, i would have had to apply for ontario government funding because i had no money, no employment. i have never paid for basic health care in ontario but that basic cover does not apply to drugs. it would have been around $1800? $1900? per month (something like that??) to pay for the rebif without a drug plan or the government funding.

i have never stayed in alberta long enough to get health care there but we have family friends who used to live in bc and the wife is an rn and they ended up moving to alberta because she wanted the better health care there for her family. the only thing i remember about alberta is that in calgary it can get freaking bitterly cold and that it was so dry that i had a headache every day i was there and my skin felt too tight and itchy. so if you are used to dry it's fine but i was used to humid ontario and temperate bc!

Hello
I’m jess and I’m coming to visit my family who stay in Alaska…..since 5 years I have not met them. I’m so thrilled that I’m going to meet them. I’m a heart patient so the doctor has asked me not to travel. Last year I had an open heart surgery so that’s why my doctor has prohibited me from traveling long distances. Till now I’m under constant observation and medication. I was searching on the net if I can get my medicines in Alaska and I saw that there is an online pharmacy on page http://www.drugdelivery.ca/xx-US-02-A-x ... rmacy.aspx which takes medical orders. I’m happy because it provides all the medicines that I need. Concerning the medical aspect I’m reassured. I’m eager to visit Alaska. Hope it will be just like what I have imagined....it’s been a long time since I have travel. Now, I want to make the best of this trip. Do you think it will be too risky to travel now?

Great to hear that you're moving somewhere where you can create more naturally occuring Vitamin D! I'm anti heat also, but there is a caveat. While the heat can zap my strength, I feel better in the spring and summer. I just have to minimize the early afternoon outdoor stuff. The cold hurts me worse. While I see well and have more energy in the cold, I stiffen up so bad that I feel more disabled. I will start shivering and can't stop when I get chilled and that makes for a very bad day.