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Remicade in other countries

I am on Remicade currently in America and am wondering what other countries Remicade is approved for use in. I am getting an English teaching certficate and am afraid I'll never be able to travel for as long as I am on Remicade. I'm particularly interested in Germany. My google searches don't seem incredibly helpful in this area. Anyone know where I can find a list of where its being used?
 

DustyKat

Super Moderator
My personal thoughts...

I think you would find most westernised countries have Remicade approved for the use at least Crohn's Disease. The maze will be at what cost it will be to you.

Since, I would venture to say, all westernised countries? have universal health schemes outside the US unless you can access that scheme you would be significantly out of pocket and would have to pursue some type of private health cover.

Good luck!

Dusty. xxx
 
Well, right. I was on Remicade in France for 2 years. It was covered 100% by the national plan -- but then, I was a landed immigrant (j'avais une carte de séjour) and had full health coverage when I was there. (Now I'm back in Canada, and while most of my costs are covered, and it's better than the US, it's still messy).

Germany's health care system is very different from the one in France. There are many different health insurance companies in Germany, rather than one big national one (l'Assurance maladie) plus supplementary private ones (mutuelles) as there are in France. Whether you would be eligible for coverage probably would depend more on your status in Germany than anything else -- I'm not sure if the individual insurers would insure people who are not legal residents.

This is a good place to start -- use Google Translate if you don't speak German. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krankenversicherung_in_Deutschland
 
I live in Canada and am hoping to spend 8 months in Europe in 2013. I have been working with the agency Bio Advance, which I believe operates in both Canada & USA. They work directly with the manufacturer of Remicade. What I have learned so far is that we need to locate a country that will allow me to bring the drug in. Bio Advance can assist me in having the drug paid for, but only if I can have it shipped from Canada. So far, Bio Advance has had contact with Italy and England and both countries do not allow the drug to be brought in from outside. Bio Advance is now talking to Spain and Portugal.
However, I sought out this forum as I am getting anxious about how long this process is taking - I made my initial request to Bio Advance in April 2012 - 7 months ago and they're only on the 4th country.
I am only vacationing and will not have any status in any of the countries. If there are any folks who have connections in Europe that are able to assist in querying that country's willingness to allow the drug to be brought in, I would be most grateful.
 
PM sent, but my estimation of a good way to proceed would be to get your gastroenterologist to contact a colleague in the country where you will be staying/spending the most time. Once you have an established medical "home base," that GI can likely help you make contact with an appropriate clinic or hospital where the Remicade can be infused. I'm concerned that BioAdvance may not be allowed to participate in your care in the European country where you will be staying due to international distribution agreements.

The important thing is to have a place that's willing to give you your infusion. Once you have that, you will be able to get in touch with whatever local distributor the clinic/hospital uses for Remicade. Talk to your insurance company about how to get them to pay for the Remicade sold by its local European distributor -- it could be directly, through an independent pharmacy, through a travel insurance agency or through the clinic/hospital where the infusion is given.

Good luck, and let us know what happens!
 
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In my situation, and generally, Canadian gov't and insurers only pay for drugs dispensed in Canada - hence the need to have the drug shipped to me in Europe.
Appreciate the tips and I'll keep working on it.
 
I live in Egypt and Remicade isn't covered by the government insurance for Crohn's or UC, only cases covered so far are severe arthritis conditions only. Still there are privates insurance schemes which are offered by most of private sector that includes EVERYTHING. Since I'm not covered by either I buy my own on my full expense, my insurance only covers the hospital fees.
 
I pay 4000 EGP ( Around $656 ) per 100LE and by every 3 100ml vials purchased I do get one 100ml for free for the next infusion
 
Thanks Nancy. I'm wondering if the next time you go in for a treatment, you wouldn't mind asking the hospital what they would charge for a non-resident to receive an infusion. Also, if they would allow me to bring the drug with me, rather than purchase it from the hospital. I would have the drug shipped to me from Canada by a drug company to ensure it clears customs and remains cool. I would very much appreciate if you could help with this Nancy. I gather you are being treated for rheumatoid arthritis. This is the primary reason my specialist prescribed Remicade for me, although it does benefit my Crohn's disease as well.
 
Sharid, the cost to receive an infusion (and whether the clinic would even be allowed to do so) varies from institution to institution as well as country to country. You should make contact with the people at the clinics in the places where you intend to stay in order to get this information.
 
Hello from Portland, Oregon. Remicade here is outrageously expensive. I'm currently paying $17,000 per infusion at Oregon Health Sciences University. In San Diego, I was able to go to a Coram facility that only charged $3,500 for the same amount of the drug. I currently receive 800 mg per kg, every 8 weeks.

I'm so stunned that a health university would rip off patients to that extent, I've written letters to them. But have never had a response. My advice, don't come to Portland if you're on Remicade. Try San Diego instead. :)
 
I am on Remicade in Minneapolis and part of RemiStart, a governmental funded program. I've been on it for 1.5 years and have not only had amazing results (ie no flares from my UC) and never had to pay a cent for it. I was terrified to start, looking at forums like this on the cost of the drug, but the program has literally paid for everything. I'm nervous for the day it doesn't anymore (I truly have zero information on my case, I just called to set it up and they said I was good), but for now, it's free. Look into it, US citizens!
 
I live in Egypt and Remicade isn't covered by the government insurance for Crohn's or UC, only cases covered so far are severe arthritis conditions only. Still there are privates insurance schemes which are offered by most of private sector that includes EVERYTHING. Since I'm not covered by either I buy my own on my full expense, my insurance only covers the hospital fees.
Thats weird. You would think they would cover it for crohn's since it was originally approved for Crohn's back in 1998.
 
cest_elle: $17,000?! :eek2:

Pretty interesting to read about all these differences between health care systems in relation to Remicade in different countries...

I live in The Netherlands. Here we pay around €100 per month for (mandatory) health insurance, with a €375 deductable per year.

Remicade costs around €600 per 100mg, so for me that would around €1800 per 6-weekly infusion, which the hospital directly declares at the health insurance company and is fully covered.

So... I pay around €1575 of health insurance each year (12 x €100 + €375) for everything: medication (including Remicade), consults with my specialist(s), etc. Not too bad I think :)

Just checked my health insurance, and I'm already far over my deductible (>€600), and that's only on 6MP and allopurinol, so I guess everything from now on is fully covered for the rest of the year :ylol:
 
Hi Nancy, I know this is an old thread but just wondering if you are still on Remicade infusions in Egypt and how is that going? I'm sure price has surged by now? Thanks a lot.
 
I know this has been a relatively quiet thread for a while, but just wanted to post that I am an American expat living in the UAE (Abu Dhabi) and I was prescribed Remicade by my GI here. It seems pretty accessible, I do my infusions at a local hospital in the oncology unit but I know there are clinics who do them as well (I'm just more comfortable at the hospital).

My insurance through my work covers it completely, I've never seen the bill so I'm not sure about cost. But if anyone was looking to travel you could probably bring an order from your doctor at home stating that you've been on Remicade for ___ amount of time at ___ dose and will require a dose on ___ date. You could probably see a consulting GI and they could order it for you.

Not sure how it works in other countries though.
 
Does anyone here have experiences with remicade (or other bio treatments) in Spain, concerning both the healthcare capabities there and also whether it is included in the spanish national healthcare system, such as I've read above, it is in France?
 
Really interesting question. In France the healthcare system is the best as I don't pay a cent for my Remicade infusion.
However I would like to move to England for a year -or two- and I don't know how their healthcare system works. Does anyone here know about it?
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Adelina if you create a new thread asking about uK healthcare and remicade
You will probably get more responses
We are on the US so can't help much
 
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