Merely Me's MS Central Question of the Week!

Merely Me, what a great question!  I too am interested in how our health care compares to other countries.  not just for MS but for other illnesses.  But my main interest as you know is MS.  We here so much about Cancer and other dieases, and yes they are all important to the well being of someone having a good life.  I personally do not hear much about MS unless it happens to someone famous, now that may not be totally correct, but MS is out there more than we think.  I feel like people are ashamed of this illness, no need to be, it will slow walk you down, for sure.  But I feel like more could be done to help those of us who have had the fourtune of being stricken with this illness.  All of the expermential surgies that they do, that you see, should be made avaiilable to more people which they are not.  It gives a sense of false hope, but it does give some of us a sense of hope.  But I am interested in how people with MS fair over seas, I am interested.  I have often thought about living abroad, but often wondered, what would be the best place for a person with MS to live oversea?  Just wondering?  sherry/smomdukes

Our health care is mostly socialized. I went into my plan in 1972 when I got to the kibbutz we lived on then. I get my Betaferon for free, don't have to pay anything when I see specialists, don't pay for scans of any kind or MRIs. A small monthly payment is taken off my disability pension monthly to continue my med plan membership.

I have 2 cousins with MS in the US. One of their husbands has a health plan that covers most of her Rebif. The other has never had any first line treatment due to lack of sufficient insurance coverage. I'm way better off than they are with our socialized medical plans.

Feel good ,

Maris on vacation in Mykonos, Gr.

I'm a patient of the VA hospital in Washington, DC and can speak a little about the system I'm under. The Veterans Administration considers MS a "service connected" disease or condition if it is diagnosed while serving in the military or within seven years of discharge. That translates into free or low-cost care for most veterans. It also equates to a military disability with the possibility of disability payments for many veterans suffering from this. There's a lot of fine print and (typical of the government) plenty of bureaucracy involved in all this, so I advice any veterans reading this to talk to someone at the VA before diving in with an expectation of a lifetime of free care.

The VA has three "Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence." One is in Oregon, one in Washington state, and one in Maryland. They conduct a lot of research and have a reputation for good care.

When I started being seen by the VA I had to first go to an assigned Personal Care Physician at the VA Hospital. He/she could then make referrals to specialty clinics as needed. Staffing seems bad at the hospital I go to so it can sometimes take a long time to be seen by a specialist. It only took me a week to get an MRI scheduled, and an additional week or so after that to get a CT scan scheduled after lesions were found. On the other hand, it is taking me months to be seen by an eye surgeon for an eye tumor.

I'm currently being treated for intention tremor, sleep apnea, an eye tumor, and post traumatic stress disorder. They haven't diagnosed MS yet. I'm on Citalopram, Propranolol, and Prilosec and haven't paid a cent for any of my medical care or prescription meds. I think I could probably get slightly better care through my civilian health insurance, but I would be paying some high copays (especially for meds). For now I'm going to stick with the VA.

KJ

Health care in general is getting wild.  My premiums have tripled while my benefits and services have been cut or eliminated.  My dental and vision benefits disappeared.  Most troubling my copay for Avonex went from $40 for three months to $300.  Well due to a dispute with the isurance company  my neurologist refused to deal with them.  I quit the insurance and took another plan.  I'm not satisfied with them either.  I am considering going on medicare and using a low premium insurance plan to cover the "gap".  Has anyone else done this?