Medical Needs

[Piperflyer]

How do you full timers keep up with your Doctor, Dental Appointments, etc while on the road full time? Do all the places you travel honor you medical insurance if their is an emergency and you need medical or dental care? How about keeping up with your medical prescriptions? Just wonder how you manage this when you are miles from your previous home now that you are a full time RV'er.

 

[kowAlski631]

We've had no problems. For our checkups, renewing medication prescriptions, and dental, we returned to where we had docs in place. For scripts, we use Wal-Mart since they're everywhere, but any nationwide chain (CVS, Walgreen) works too. Emergency care is generally covered, but a bad cold is not considered to be an emergency.

 

[DocFather]

Check with your insurance carrier to see where you can find in-network physicians. Any ER care is almost always in-network. I have Humana Advantage for my Medicare and all my prescriptions are 90-day mail order that I manage and renew online. I use the current mailing address or next address I will be at when I travel and need a refill.

 

[TravelWithTheColes]

I keep an excel spreadsheet of all of our appointments, whether we are at home or on the road. I list the name & address of the doctor and the services provided. This helps me keep track of things like when we had our teeth cleaned last so we know when it is time to go again. To find the healthcare providers we need on the road, I print a list of local doctors from my insurance company's website, then ask around the park to see if anyone has any recommendations from the list. This helps ensure we are covered. Often the staff at the park or other full timers have been to or heard of someone on the list. For prescriptions, we use Walgreens and it is easy to have them filled anywhere!

 

[danemayer]

We've returned to our prior home city for regular appointments and specialists. Immediate care we handle wherever we are, checking first on the Insurer's website that we're going to an in-plan provider. Emergency care is covered anywhere.

I had a tooth break last Fall while on the road. Held off for a couple of weeks until we got to a location where we'd be staying put for a few weeks and went to a local dentist who accepted our insurance.

Prescriptions are mail-order and a bit of a pain because we have to manage temporary ship-to addresses on their website and allow 5-10 days for delivery. Occasionally something slips through and goes to our mail forwarding address and then gets forwarded to us in the next shipment, at our expense. We can get prescriptions filled at local CVS stores at the same pricing, but there are no CVS stores in many of the places we go. If we get prescriptions filled locally at Walmart, for example, after 2 fills, the pricing changes dramatically. If you keep track of your prescriptions, you can refill at the right time and manage the ship-to side.

 

[MTPockets]

We get 90 day prescriptions with refills and use mail order. We stayed with Medicare for insurance due to our travel so we don't worry about coverage area. We also have a supplement that is good everywhere. We don't travel in Canada, so it's a non issue for us and Medicare is good anywhere in USA. So far, we've been able to see new doctors where we have wintered, and have teleconferenced a couple times with that doctor for specialist referral in other states. There's always a way with planning. Hospitals for emergencies.

 

[jjriker]

We also return to our home area for normal doctor's and dentists appointments. Harry had an issue a couple years ago which we went to the ER for, and there was no problem as far as taking our insurance etc. I have routine medications to take and get them through the mail order pharmacy. They are sent to my normal address, which is our mail service, and then I have them sent to me wherever I am. And they are three month prescriptions, so I don't even have to do it that often.

 

[BouseBill]

Mail order for meds, to the local post office. (General Delivery works at most).

 

[kowAlski631]

We use Walmart for the meds that need to be kept cold (insulin). So, it's just as easy for us to pick up the other meds there too.

 

[wdk450]

Gang:
I remember reading a thread recently about the difficulty of getting prescription painkillers on the road, due to current Federal Narcotic regulations. The August 2015 issue of "Trailer Life" has a letter in the "Letters" section that says that online pharmacies like "Express Scripts" WILL mail these prescriptions to you, and your Doctor can FAX the original prescription to them.

I hope this helps somebody.

 

[buddyboy]

I read that also and unless protocols have changed in the past year, narcotics cannot be sent to "General Delivery" or to a PO Box. It must go to a street address and be signed for by the addressee. Please check out the requirements with both your physician and your insurance company or pharmacy benefits manager before you assume it will work for you.

 

[jmgratz]

We use Target Pharmacy. There are Target stores all across the country and we can get a refill at any of them as they are linked.