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Just one example of drugs: DH needs a weekly B12 shot. He pays $5 for the shot and the clinic charges nothing to inject it. No prescription needed for the shot OR for his thyroid med. Here's the comparison to the U.S.
Private doctor. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $250 in private clinics. Per shot. If you need daily or weekly injections, it can add up quickly.
An infusion clinic. Some clinics will drip methyl B12 directly into your veins (IV, or intravenously), but each visit will cost you anywhere from $100 to $500.
Buy online and self-inject. In the U.S, new regulations by the FDA and the Board of Pharmacies have made it incredibly hard to sell B12 shots online. A physician now has to issue a prescription, and be licensed in the state where the customer buys from. As a result, online companies have doctors now prescribing the shots over the phone. The price, last we checked, was ~$150 for a 10mg vial, or ~$250 for a 50mg vial. These prices include a consultation call, the prescription, and shipping.
And no need for a doctor visit or prescription for thyroid pills which are less than 1/3 of U.S. prices.
Levothyroxine is $16 for 30 pills in the U.S.
We pay $7 for 50 pills. Do the math, lol. 53 cents per vs. 14 cents per.
B12: $5 here; $150 in the U.S. for 10 mg. vial. PLUS cost for injection itself.
Related to thread = we just did our annual skin cancer screening in Buenos Aires, $30 USD at official exchange rate, cost us $15 at blue dollar.
We waited until in Argentina since they have a lot more fair skinned Euro looking people than most places we go, figured maybe more skin cancer experience/expertise. No idea if that logic is sound.
Related to thread = we just did our annual skin cancer screening in Buenos Aires, $30 USD at official exchange rate, cost us $15 at blue dollar.
We waited until in Argentina since they have a lot more fair skinned Euro looking people than most places we go, figured maybe more skin cancer experience/expertise. No idea if that logic is sound.
Off topic. How much is a good steak these days in BA? (I may visit before long)
Just one example of drugs: DH needs a weekly B12 shot. He pays $5 for the shot and the clinic charges nothing to inject it. No prescription needed for the shot OR for his thyroid med. Here's the comparison to the U.S.
Private doctor. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $250 in private clinics. Per shot. If you need daily or weekly injections, it can add up quickly.
An infusion clinic. Some clinics will drip methyl B12 directly into your veins (IV, or intravenously), but each visit will cost you anywhere from $100 to $500.
Buy online and self-inject. In the U.S, new regulations by the FDA and the Board of Pharmacies have made it incredibly hard to sell B12 shots online. A physician now has to issue a prescription, and be licensed in the state where the customer buys from. As a result, online companies have doctors now prescribing the shots over the phone. The price, last we checked, was ~$150 for a 10mg vial, or ~$250 for a 50mg vial. These prices include a consultation call, the prescription, and shipping.
And no need for a doctor visit or prescription for thyroid pills which are less than 1/3 of U.S. prices.
Levothyroxine is $16 for 30 pills in the U.S.
We pay $7 for 50 pills. Do the math, lol. 53 cents per vs. 14 cents per.
B12: $5 here; $150 in the U.S. for 10 mg. vial. PLUS cost for injection itself.
But isn't all of this irrelevant if one has insurance in the U.S.? If you factor in insurance, your husband is paying quite a bit more than we are for the same medications.
My wife and I each pay $10 for a 3-month supply (12 1ml vials) of B12, so even quite a bit cheaper than the $5/week your DH pays. In fact, it's exactly half of what your DH pays. And there's no charge to inject it because I do that myself for both of us. In fact, unless someone has an aversion to needles, I'm not sure why a trip to a clinic would be necessary.
Similarly, we each pay $10 for a 3-month supply (90 pills) for our Synthroid Rx. So basically, 11 cents each vs the 14 cents you pay.
The only difference is that we need an Rx for these items (including the needles for the B12) which is handled by an annual visit to our endocrinologist (no out-of-pocket costs with Medicare and our supplement) and then only a phone call if we run out of refills before the next annual visit.
Just had a wisdom tooth pulled, a cavity filled, one tooth capped, and teeth cleaned here in Monterrey, Mexico. Total $540 dollars. Good luck finding teeth cleaning and a cavity filled in the USA for that, never mind getting a tooth capped. Oh yeah, I forgot about the x-rays, for which there was no charge.
In Florida? First of all, everything is menu priced. Best estimate?
Office visit: $35
X-rays and full tooth exam: $79
Cleaning: $175
Crown: $1200
Wisdom tooth extraction: $250
Cavity resin: $150
That's about $1900, and it could well be $2500 depending on where you go.
I paid 25% of the price, which is less than my deductible or copay if I was insured. My dentist in Mexico is trained in Houston, took over his father's clinic and now his daughter is a dentist there also. Speaks impeccable English.
B12 I can adddress. My Dr Rxed Cyanobalomin for 6 months, one cc shot a momth. Insurance would only pay for six 1-cc vials, $30, my copay was $6. But I could buy a 30-cc vial for less -- only $4.95, and stull have a two year supply left over free. In the US it is possible to buy drugs, especially OTC, in much much more economical packagind.
I'd never drea, of traveling without a s,all supply on knock-off Benadryl and Ibuprofin. I'v learned how much it costs to buy single foil-pack pieces. With that type of marketing, 1/10 might actually be the ratio of some, in US favor.
We can throw anecdotes back and forth all day. My experience in a dozen countries is that the plusses and minuses will even out over a lifetime.
I once had a side effect to a Mexican drug and went to ER in US. They checked it out and found it wasn't even the same drug the label said it was. Mexican farmacias are often not AC and in high shelf temperatures, may lose their efficacy long before expiry date. Which is why they're cheap.
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