Prescription costs for the self employed...

[fan li yee]

Hi

can anyone advise if it is possible to get some sort of private health cover plans if you are self employed? Sure there must be something like that? My sister lives in the states, for instance and she is self employed, she pays in to a private health plan/insurance thing - would it be the same in Canada?

We are hoping to emigrate and eventually become self employed, hubby is chronic asthmatic - but manages his condition very well with Ventolin etc - worried about the high cost of inhalers over there. And we thought £6.50 was steep!

any advice (but especially from the self employed) would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

[Purley]

You can get private supplemental health insurance through Blue Cross

http://www.bluecross.ca/

But I have a feeling that in Saskatchewan if you need a medication to stay alive, your doctor can get it for you so that its paid by the health plan. I have been told that diabetics, if they can't afford the necessary medication, they can get it paid for them because its needed for them to stay alive.

Not sure how it works in other provinces. Some provinces you have to pay a premium for healthcare. Not so in Sask.

[Graeme]

Self employed people have access to supplemental private carriers like Blue Cross, it can be expensive however and you need to weigh up the costs of the plan against the projected cost of your drugs. Going with a generic Albuterol rather than the Ventolin (Salbuterol or longer lasting deriratives like Salmererol) may save some money. One way of getting on a good plan is to join the local Chamber of Commerce who have access to group plans and you can easily join that plan-it's cheaper than going it alone!
You have lots of choices with drugs here and you may find that the larger dispensaries such as Costco, Great Canadian Superstore and Extra Foods can supply you at a much cheaper rate.

Graeme

[n1k100]

Graeme could you be good enough to explain more about the "local Chamber of Commerce plan" What is this and how do you join?

Annette

[Graeme]

Most towns or cities have a chamber of commerce; this is used to promote the local businesses, it also provides some support for those businesses. Many businesses can't afford to provide extended health care coverage to their employees as they are small and don't have many people working for them. The Chamber can usually offer a group plan that the businesses can buy into, this can give a small business the ability to purchase a plan it couldn't otherwise afford. A small business could even be an individual with a home based business, this gives the individual the chance to cover his/her family with a plan they otherwise couldn't afford. Now, not every Chamber of Commerce offers such a deal, but it's a good idea to approach your local chamber if you have a business or are self employed and want to get extended health coverage.

On the drug side of things, I understand that Walmart in the USA has bought up many medication formulas which are now considered generic, they will be offering these drugs at a hugely discounted cost in the near future, this is also going to spread to Canada over the next five years and should bring the price of generic drugs down to a reasonable level.
Hope this helps.
Graeme

[Graeme]

Pacific Blue Cross (www.pac.bluecross.ca) is now offering extended health care and dental plans for families for the self employed for as little as $2.00 per day. Might be worth checking out if you need some extra coverage.
Graeme