Big problem..family member needs medication

[Ryan76 46]

29 minutes ago, Timona said:

I remember you. You have another bomb shell?? Your in laws seem to be the "surprise, surprise" type. Last time, they wanted to immigrate. Heheh

Yeah, it turns out that was mostly due to the SIL having a personal meltdown and wanting to run away from some issues.  I *think* that is behind us now.  The MIL really misses life in Bogota, but she also wants to spend as much time as possible with the baby right now.

[Mike E 11,727]

1 minute ago, Ryan76 said:

It's not that simple.   .

It is. You led with;

”Long story short, my wife and I have an infant baby and we wanted her Mom,  who lives in Colombia,  to come stay with us for 6 months to care her while we are at work”

 

Your audience has seen several   posts where visas are rejected or entry denied because grand parents characterize their visit exactly as you did.  
 

s/care her/bond with her/ 

d/while we are at work/

 

and the reason for the visit is credible. 
 

I can appreciate that in hindsight it didn’t work out as originally planned, in terms of child care. 

[Lemonslice 4,602]

6 minutes ago, Ryan76 said:

It's not that simple.  I didn't explain all this in the OP because i thout it was irrelevant, but, this is her first Grandchild.  She was going to come here for a few months regardless of if she watched the baby or not.  And at least with Colombians, visiting family for weeks or months at a time is not uncommon.

 

We did not "save" anything by having her mother here...if anything it has cost us slightly more than childcare. Which is why we might be in a bind depending on how much this ends up costing.  Her mom has no money.  We pay for everything...plane tickets, food alone is costing us close to an extra $75 per week (at least) in this economy.  Plus everything else a person needs for daily living.

 

The reason she's here is because it's a family thing, not because we were trying to save on childcare. 

 

We will pay for the medication, obviously.  That's not the issue. The issue is what's the easiest way to get the medication?  Are we going to have to jump through all the hoops of a Dr appt, blood tests, etc?  Because that's where we run into issues.  Without insurance, simple stuff can end up costing a fortune.

Start by reaching out to her doctor, statins might not even be required for the next two months.  Or, they are, and you start from there. Doctor will have recent blood work, etc.

[JeanneAdil 6,261]

Story:uu

i told Adil to bring all her diabetes medication for the 3 months of her stay (with dr prescription notice to get thru customs and immigration as required / he didn't -said it was $40 a month -to expensive 

so, we had to get her medication here in US 

1. Dr visit 2 hrs away in Atlanta as she wanted to speak to Arabic speaking Dr

2. blood work

3. diabetic medicine is just under $600 a month for one / only $30 for the other

4. the real shock was she had attack of appenditis less than 2 weeks home/  this would have been for us to pay here (dr,  hospital,  respite care and medication)   $1000 in Moroc instead of the thousands in the US

so u must prepare for everything  as shxxt happens

 

Now  the real issue is health care insurance -even my 2 basic and supplimental do not pay for medications / that 's a different company and premium to pay

 

If u invited her mom to stay ,  u needed to be prepared to cover costs of the visit ,room and board and anything else she may need like clothes,  gifts for her sight seeing  to see the US / we took Toria to 8 states and several American resturants  for the real American experience

 

u can't just use someone to babysit 

mom may not care but immigration does 

 

and she isn't suppose to work on B2 visa -if she had said she was coming to take care of the baby while your wife worked,  the B2 would not have been approved 

[powerpuff 5,992]

23 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

1. Dr visit 2 hrs away in Atlanta as she wanted to speak to Arabic speaking Dr

2. blood work

3. diabetic medicine is just under $600 a month for one / only $30 for the othe

I assume you had to pay a separate fee for the doctor visit?

[Ryan76 46]

31 minutes ago, Timona said:

I remember you. You have another bomb shell?? Your in laws seem to be the "surprise, surprise" type. Last time, they wanted to immigrate. Heheh

Yeah, it turns out that was mostly due to the SIL having a personal meltdown and wanting to run away from some issues.  I *think* that is behind us now.  The MIL really misses life in Bogota, but she also wants to spend as much time as possible with the baby right now.

[Ryan76 46]

So I just texted my wife...told her to contact the SIL ASAP and have her explain everything to the Dr.  Then go from there.  

 

Putting the MIL in charge of the situation...that's not going to happen. It's definitely a hard no.  I don't know the right way to say this....so I will just say that it's definitely up to us and maybe the SIL to figure this out. 

[gregcrs2 1,777]

Have you tried to google natural alternatives to cholesterol meds?  

[SusieQQQ 11,585]

1 hour ago, Ryan76 said:

 

 

We will pay for the medication, obviously.  That's not the issue. The issue is what's the easiest way to get the medication?  Are we going to have to jump through all the hoops of a Dr appt, blood tests, etc?  Because that's where we run into issues.  Without insurance, simple stuff can end up costing a fortune.

If you want the prescription written by a US doctor, yes. Remember to ask for cash discounts.

 

You can take the chance of trying to get it refilled in Colombia and couriered over but the courier may not accept it and CBP may not let it through, so that seems a risky route. Or as someone said, try a border run to a country where they don’t care about prescriptions. Don’t know that that’s necessary cheaper.  

[Ryan76 46]

54 minutes ago, Mike E said:

It is. You led with;

”Long story short, my wife and I have an infant baby and we wanted her Mom,  who lives in Colombia,  to come stay with us for 6 months to care her while we are at work”

 

Your audience has seen several   posts where visas are rejected or entry denied because grand parents characterize their visit exactly as you did.  
 

s/care her/bond with her/ 

d/while we are at work/

 

and the reason for the visit is credible. 
 

I can appreciate that in hindsight it didn’t work out as originally planned, in terms of child care. 

No, I did not "lie", I was trying to make things simple and concise without getting lost in the weeds on details i thought were irrelevant.  Half the time my wife is working from home, and I usually have a day off each week too.  Yes her mother is there all day, but it's because she wants to know her Grandchild, she doesn't view it as employment, she views it as visiting with her family.  Mischaracterizing or lying about anything was not my intent.

Last summer her mom, brother, and sister came for nearly 3 months...so having ppl here for long periods is pretty normal for us.

 

None of this makes any difference about the immediate issue of trying to get her the medication she needs

[Ryan76 46]

11 minutes ago, gregcrs2 said:

Have you tried to google natural alternatives to cholesterol meds?  

Yes, currently looking at that, but I really need to hear from the SIL who is hopefully talking to her Dr to see if that's even an option.  Or I guess to see if it's a temporary solution 

[JeanneAdil 6,261]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

Ouch. It's one of those situations where it's tempting to say "Your lack of planning is not my emergency."

 

Since this is primarily your MIL's problem, how about letting her take the lead in figuring out how to get her meds? She can look up clinics serving low-income Latinos, she can ask someone in Colombia to bring/mail them to her, or if the need is truly dire, she flies back to Colombia and restocks. 

 

Irresponsible people usually depend on the responsible ones to get them out of trouble. Up to you to decide where your boundaries are with your MIL.

sorry,  if this is a prescription drug ,  it would be inspected by customs and returned to columbia or destroyed

 

Went thru this too 

customs in Ohio mailed the diabetes medication back even it had moroccan dr notes inside the package 

[Pinkrlion 2,612]

Your MIL can go to a local Urgent Care and see an MD for a RX.  they can take the RX to a local pharmacy and use the Prescription coupons like Good RX, etc to pay for the medication.  It is not that expensive.  You will most likely be out of pocket no more than 200.00

Edited October 17, 2022 by Pinkrlion

[Mike E 11,727]

30 minutes ago, Ryan76 said:

No, I did not "lie",

Nor did I accuse you of that. I'm out.

[SusieQQQ 11,585]

39 minutes ago, Pinkrlion said:

Your MIL can go to a local Urgent Care and see an MD for a RX.  they can take the RX to a local pharmacy and use the Prescription coupons like Good RX, etc to pay for the medication.  It is not that expensive.  You will most likely be out of pocket no more than 200.00

A normal uninsured urgent care visit is listed at &150-250 according to the internet but that’s without blood tests. But they can always call ahead and ask about pricing. I know my local urgent care is not cheaper than a doctor’s visit.

Add: here are estimated ranges for blood test costs without insurance. https://www.talktomira.com/post/the-cost-of-bloodwork-without-insurance-2021