How to get a drip of infliximab/remicade in US for foreigners?

[Sara20]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. My name is Sara, I'm italian and I cure my bechet's disease with a 150ml infliximab/remicade drip once every 9 weeks.

I'm now planning to temporarily move to the US and I would need to get at least 1 drip there, more precisely in San Diego CA.

Does anybody know if it's possible to get the drip there paying the dose and the service outside of my health insurance (as, based on my knowledge, it would not cover pre-existing conditions)? What the price would be approximately?

Thanks everyone in advance

Sara

[CJBmom]

Hi Sara, I don't know the precise answer. I think your insurance you have in your home country might not cover you for treatment you get in the US because it is "out of country" and not really because it's "pre-existing" - unless you are thinking of buying insurance while you are here temporarily. If you want to buy insurance while you live here I don't know how that works, because basically most of us have insurance through our employers. If it's work that sent you here to the US and your insurance is through your job, you should be covered. I don't know what else to say about the coverage. As far as the treatment goes, you might want to contact one or two different rheumatologists who can help you with that. They can assist you with getting a drip for one time, I am sure. But bring a note and any health information you can bring from your treating doctor in Italy (I am assuming you live in Italy) and this way you can show you are on this medication and need it while you are in the US. Also, bring a prescription for it, even if it's a prescription from another country, at least it will assist you in getting treatment from a doctor. Ask your doctor where you live if he/she has any connections in the US to help you find a doctor or facility to get the drip. Good luck with this and hope you are on the road to feeling better! As you mention you seem to be cured with this, so that was great to read!! Stay well...

[Sara20 in reply to CJBmom]

Hi, thank you very much for your torough reply and for trying to help me! As for how I feel, I do feel better, I happen to have mild symptoms occasionally and I know I am lucky for that. But I still need to get my drip once every 9 weeks as I am young and my rheumatologist wants to be careful about it. About the insurance, I do plan to buy one for the time I'll spend in the US but I will not have a job there so I suppose I'll have to find one by myself and I know that it won't cover the cost of my drip because generally an insurance for a touristic visa only covers accidents, emergencies and things like that. I'll follow your suggestion and ask my doctor if he has any connections in the US and if he can help me finding out how it works. I hope that I can get my drip there and that it is not too expensive!

I really appreciate your help and your interest, thank you!