<p>I’m an International student from England. I have asthma so I get regular persciptions from my doctor for asthma pumps.</p>
<p>How would this work when i’m in the US?</p>
<p>well you should be able to get inhalers from the health clinic at your college</p>
<p>Natoar:</p>
<p>Contact your university’s health services about what the–very likely-mandatory health insurance will cover and about filling existing prescriptions. It may be possible to use prescriptions from your British doctor in the US, though be aware that proprietary name brands may be different in the two countries.</p>
<p>I don’t really have any advice to offer (even after trying to get to grips with US insurance for 3 years!), but it might be worth seeing if you can stock up on pumps before you leave…depends how sympathetic your GP is I suppose.</p>
<p>Just by coincidence I recieved from the University today details about the health insurance that they have provided</p>
<p>But the policy excludes preventitive medicine, which I take to mean asthma pumps, dentistry which i wanted to be covered for and it also excludes injuries from playing sports and I’m playing on the soccer team. </p>
<p>I have an option to opt out of this plan.</p>
<p>So do you think it would be easier to opt out of the plan and find another one?</p>
<p>Also can dentistry be included in heath insurance or is it separate?</p>
<p>As far as I know, dental insurance is normally distinct from health insurance. The best thing to do is contact the health department at your university either by phone or email (today is July 4 holiday, so wait until tomorrow) with your questions. You could also find out whether your NHS coverage extends to abroad or not.</p>
<p>Most colleges require at least a catastrophic American policy to cover unexpected hospitalizations. I am pretty sure that the NHS does not cover care outside of the UK. When a British friend came to stay with us for several weeks, she purchased a supplemental policy to cover her here. The policy covered hospitalization only, I believe. Medications are usually not covered and University Student Health Service generally doesn’t provide chronic medications. One option for you is to ask your GP to give you a year’s supply of your asthma inhalers (the American word for pump) to bring with you to college if you will not be going home over the course of the school year. Alternatively, your parents can mail them to you.</p>
<p>marite: welcome back</p>
<p>I don’t know how easy it would be to mail them, especially internationally. Both the US postal service and customs will have regulations about mailing things that might be considered “controlled substances” or “drug paraphernalia”. Not to mention the timing. Packages from Germany take forever, because of US customs. How long do your inhalers usually last? Are we talking needing one or two per year, which you can easily bring with you, or do you use a new one each week?</p>
<p>I don’t know that the inhalers would be considered “preventative,” since they are prescribed for a condition that already exists. They may be considered “chronic”, though. I think you ought to check into how much they cost (in the US) without insurance, and see if that’s worth the cost of any insurance that would cover it.</p>
<p>As far as I know, all colleges in the US require you to buy their insurance or prove that you have your own policy that is as good or better. You may be able to talk with someone in the school’s health clinic for specific details about your situation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your advice.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to kept the plan the Univeristy has offered and just have my asthma inhalers sent to me if I run out.</p>
<p>I’m also going to take out a dental plan. Would someone just be be able to look over the one I have found and if it will be suficient.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dentalplans.com/dentalplans/dentallnationwidehome.asp?zipcode=31707[/url]”>http://www.dentalplans.com/dentalplans/dentallnationwidehome.asp?zipcode=31707</a></p>
<p>binx, I hadn’t noticed your post until after I posted.</p>
<p>If inhalers can’t be sent I just try and get as many as I can before I go and then see how I can get more when I’m in the US</p>
<p>Two things I notice about this dental plan:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It “is a discount or “reduced-fee” dental plan.” You will still pay for every service. It is a discounted rate, but you still pay. If you are faithful about seeing the dentist twice a year, then you will get your money’s worth, according to their fee list.</p></li>
<li><p>You will have to trust that there is a “participating general dentist” in your area, and that he/she is good. Check before you buy to see how many participating dentists there are in your school’s town. If you get a bad one the first time, you want to be able to switch. None of my dentists in the places we’ve lived in the states participate in any of these types of plans. It’s possible they might be dentists who have a hard time getting or keeping patients otherwise, for one reason or another.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Don’t mean to be discouraging; just playing devil’s advocate. Especially since you are coming from such a different type of health care situation.</p>
<p>How often will you be going home? Summers? Christmas? You may be able to schedule regular check-ups at home, as well as non-emergency care – like wisdom tooth removal. (I have managed to make it through 2 years in Germany without seeing a German dentist.) Injuries to “healthy” teeth as a result of accidents or such are usually covered under medical plans, by the way. The only thing you’re risking is dental fillings that can’t wait for your next trip home, root canals, etc. If your teeth are fairly healthy, consider if the risk outweighs the expense.</p>
<p>I’m looking at the brochure from my S’s school: I see that it has a 12 month waiting period for any expenses for “pre-existing conditions.” It seems to be waived in situations where the student had other insurance prior to this one. I don’t really understand it, and can’t tell if coverage from another country would be included. (However, I believe at his school, the health clinic - which doesn’t charge - would be perfectly capable of handling most asthma related problems.)</p>
<p>This school plan also covers prescription drugs up to $1000 per year, with a co-payment of $10 per prescription.</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend trying to get as much treatment done at home on the NHS as you can. Depending on your health insurance policy, you might be covered for emergency dental treatment, or if your university has a dental school you should be able to get cheap treatment there if you’re in dire straits.
I’ve been fine (touch wood) for the past 3 years without taking out dental/optical insurance.</p>