Working in the US from Australia with Crohn's

[dddddd]

Hi!

I've had Crohn's for six years now and for the last five years have managed to achieve remission through the use of Remicade (Infliximab). I understand that this is an expensive drug and I am extremely lucky that it is funded by the Australian government's Medicare scheme.

I have travelled to New York a couple of times and would love to work in the city for an extended period. My infusion cycles are every eight weeks so transiting between the two countries for treatment is infeasible. My question is, would a US employer provided insurance plan possibly cover the treatment? If so how would I go about making sure that I was covered? Would that be a personal responsibility or would the employer be able to work out the coverage?

I work in software if that changes anything.

Thanks!

 

[my little penguin]

Ds is on humira now and was on remicade before
He started remicade at age 8 and is now 12.
Both were covered by my insurance through my employer.
Not 100% but each insurance plan is different
Remistart helps with the copay( your percentage that you pay for remicade )
And most pay very little for the actual copay when using remistart

Good luck

 

[Lisa]

If your employer is providing healthcare coverage, find out what plan it is and you can check to see if Remicade is covered. Many plans cover Remicade under the medical plan, some others have started to cover it under a prescription plan so costs can vary. I have state-offered/empkiyer health care, Empire Plan, which covers my infusion 100%.

 

[Madhu]

Hello, my husband works in software too here in the US. His employer provided insurance(Aetna). There are lots of companies which provide lots of plans. According to our plan, we need to meet a $600 deductible. Once it is met, we will have to pay upto $1750 for treatment. Once we have met both these criteria, all treatment for the rest of the year will be fully covered by Aetna. Remicade is expensive and we are very lucky to have not paid a dime for it so far. Our insurance cycle ends this month, so for his next infusion, we will mostly be asked to pay. But now we know that our yearly expenditure will not exceed $1750. Hope this helps. Good luck

 

[my little penguin]

Aarthi remistart can help cover some of what your expected to pay for the $1750
Might be worth looking into
It is not income based

 

[Madhu]

Oh! I will look into it. Thanks

 

[my little penguin]

http://www.remistart.com/index.html