cost of shots and meds
 

WOW!! I just returned from getting my shots and medication for my trip to India. I had heard it was expensive, but was not expecting it to be $1,000.00. My doctor reccomended I go to PASSPORT HEALTH, because they did not have all the vaccines and shots on hand ( I also heard they don't like to buy them because it is not cost effective to buy just one vaccine). Anyway, any other experiences with this. It is a huge additional cost for those trying to budget for their trip. Can others chime in as to whether it should have been covered by my insurance or other places to get the suggested shots and malaria meds at a more reasonable price? Too late for me, but let's help others.

What insurance covers is highly variable from company to company and even within companies from policy to policy. Consulting your insurance company is a good idea...also about whether or not you have coverage outside of your home country. If you do not, or if the coverage is insufficient and/or does not include evacuation coverage if you will be somewhere without good medical facility, then you will certainly want to consider travel medical coverage.

Where are you located?

In the US, many of the routine travelers health vaccines are available through the local state or county public health service (things like Hep A & B). Some vaccines should be covered by your insurance, like tetanus. Some vaccines are rarely covered by insurance, such as rabies pre-exposure vaccine. The least expensive place to get the anti-malarial, malarone in the US is from the Costco pharmacy. Many times insurance will cover anti-malarials with just your usual copay.

I got my Hep A, B and Tetanus shots last week for an upcoming trip. I found that prices don't vary too much among so-called "travel clinics" in Houston.

I ended up using my school's clinic as they don't require an appointment. Paid $60 for each shot of Hep A and B, and $30 for Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis.

our HMO--harvard pilgrim in boston, covers everything except for our co-pay for the office visit--$15 each....we have to buy the malerone however which i picked up today....$50 each for 19 days....the cost on the label said $136.99 fir each of us...

think of the potential alternative however!!

Hopefully you were not recommended to get rabies shots, not necessary for most travelers.

Malarone is sometimes covered by insurance. It tends to have the least complications and unfortunately will be the biggest health expense. Larium is a much cheaper alternative but I've seen firsthand how bad the reactions can be, that stuff should be outlawed.

I was able to get my shot prescriptions at my doctors office then went to the local pharmacy and had the jabs performed there.

Instead of going through a travel clinic (and we have TWO associated with the hospital I work at in Providence), I am going to my own MD today who will cover the office visit part as a routine annual checkup. I did pay for the Hep A shot and the typhoid vaccine (about $150 total), got the Hep B already done as well as tetanus through my Health clinic at work since I am a hospital person with patient exposure. So I'll end up paying for the Hep A (first part anyway), the typhoid vaccine pills, the polio booster(I think) and my doxycycline for the maleria. But the overall cost, probably under $300 is a whole lot cheaper than the travel clinics who wanted to charge me about 2-3 hundred $$ as "administration" fees. Yeah, right!

I should have chimed in about what the pharmacies will and won't carry. My original pharmacy had the nerve to expect me to pay for 5 shots since they couldn't get just one. I looked at the pharmisist and said" you actually expect me to pay for 4 shots that I don't need"" and his response was "well, we can only get them in bulk"- spare me! I did find another pharmacy that was willing to just charge me for the one needed shot. Weird!

Cookie, good reminders that we all have to be conscious consumers of medical care. Your pharmacy story is pretty appalling.

For-profit travel clinics have a reputation of being expensive. Often, medical schools have a travel or tropical medicine clinic that is reasonably priced.

Kathie, except for ours-we ARE a medical school so you can't even count on that!

Yipes! Too bad, Cookie.

You definitely need to do some research. As I said, I think my doctor's office didn't want to do it, because it was not cost effective. Just like the pharmacies, they have to buy in bulk. I'm trying to look at the bright side. I'm going to plan a trip to Africa as soon as I get back from India, just to get my money's worth from all the shots.

cookie---where do you live that the pharmacy will give you shots??

landini:

I was able to get shots for the Amazon at my local VA, which just happened to have the Heps, malaria and yellow fever on hand ($7 each shot). My wife went to a doc who specialized in travel medicine here in L.A. and got the full run for less than $100. Most large cities do have docs who advertise this specialty.

Stu T.

Rhkkmk: sorry if I misled anyone- I got the Hep A and typhoid meds at a CVS in Cranston Rhode Island which was willing to "sell" only one dose of the Hep A to me whereas the Brooks Pharmacy in Mass. near my house said they couldn't buy the Hep A in "individual doses" and tried to get me to buy 5 doses!!Otherwise, I went to my Primary Care MD yesterday and he gave me the Hep A, (series one only), instructions for taking the typhoid vaccine pills AND threw in, for the $15 insurance co-pay, a polio booster! So instead of several hundred $$ going through my hospitals travel clinics (x2), I spent about $160 for the whole deal, other than the cost of the doxycycline and the ciprofloxin (for abdominal distress that appears to be food poisoning) which I haven't bought yet. Good deal for this cheapskate!

Prices do vary widely (or is it wildly)! At my travel med clinic here, the office visit and vaccines are typically less than $100.

cook---thanks for the info....and so close to my house....i live only about 50 miles away in MA....

you should have joined us last saturday for the fodors GTG....lots of asia types and we had a blast

I bet you had fun! You emailed me at work I think it was you anyway. I'll do one of these GTG's later but now I have to concentrate on getting together with the other work based people who go back and forth to the hospital I'll be working with in Siem Reap! Cambridge is cool though, we visit there alot, great little restaurants.