Hi All,

I don't have employer coverage for my health insurance. I don't know what are the options available if you don't have employer coverage. I went to a doctor 2 days back for Cold/Chest Congestion. I got prescribed for Antibiotics and Inhaler. This was costing 90 $. This is very expensive. I had some similar medicines from India and hence I did not buy it this time. But I can't get from India all the time. What are the cheaper options available (Online Pharmacy) etc. Also is there any health Insurance I can go for. I am diabetic and I take Metformin Tablets. I have currently stock for 6 months from India. But I want to know how can I mitigate my health costs since I can't afford too much.

Vivek ,
Medical insurance are quite expensive to buy even though they do not cover existing conditions . I went through the same pain as you are going through . I am taking a antacid daily from last 10 yrs which costed 2 $ for a tablet here and 80 Rs for pack of 10 from India . Till I got covered by employer I managed to get this medicine and other general medicines from India .
If you do math ( excluding existing conditions ) than buying medicine will be cheaper than buying insurance .
I hope this thread is not turned into "bash Canada" thread .

AG

P.S: Group Insurance covers existing medical conditions .

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Growing Old Is Mandatory ..Growing UP is Optional

Check if you can buy extended health insurance from Blue Cross (www.bluecross.ca) - compare its premium and the cost of your medicines.

Talk to your doctor - sometime they may have sample medicines.

If you have to buy it, try Costco. They have minimum dispensing fee. You need not to have a Costco member to buy medicine.

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A Delhite in Toronto

you can get the medicine from India, couriered to your address.
Mention as (for personal consumption only & Not for sale).

or alternately, if your annual family income isn't high enough then, you can claim the medical expense under Trillium drug plan.

Try http://www.drugneed.com/
They say that the will deliver medicines from india in any part of world . Just communicate with them and let CD know the outcome

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DSD

It is illegal to Import medicine for personal use in Canada for Canadian residents. However, visitors can bring medicine for them for personnel use. Canadian residents can bring medicine for only 3 months supply with them with proper prescription when they return to canada. If you go for medical insurence, your insurence rate will be quite high with diebeties and all. You can continue buying medicine from Costco which is cheapest in Canada. BTW Life saving medicine like Mtmorfin are not so expensive like you get them for CAD 20 for 100 Tabs while some medicine like acne treatment tubes etc. cost CAD 100 per tube. Buying metformin will be OK for you 15-20 Cents per tab. Most of the medicine from India are fake. It is not advisable to use them untill you are sure of medicine.

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Originally posted by agrasaand
Most of the medicine from India are fake.

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