A Question re: financing the medication

seenitall

Hi folks,

I have a quick question regarding financing fertility treatments in general, so anyone with any relevant info, thank you.

Say I have a medical card but am set to undergo fertility treatment as a private patient in the UK, would I be entitled to have my prescription for all, or some of the drugs, re-written by my GP so that I have to pay less for the drugs themselves? Is it ok for a GP to do that, or is it some big no-no?

I'm probably not explaining myself well but I have no clue how this stuff works here, and when I've asked around I'm getting different answers from every direction (for example a pharmacist told me something about a drug-cap scheme?? or something similar sounding), including my own GP who doesn't seem to be able or willing to explain anything about this? So I've ended up wondering if it's up to the individual GP to decide for themselves about this. I could be way off the mark, that's why I'm asking.

Thanks folks!

orchidsrpretty

seenitall wrote: »

Hi folks,

I have a quick question regarding financing fertility treatments in general, so anyone with any relevant info, thank you.

Say I have a medical card but am set to undergo fertility treatment as a private patient in the UK, would I be entitled to have my prescription for all, or some of the drugs, re-written by my GP so that I have to pay less for the drugs themselves? Is it ok for a GP to do that, or is it some big no-no?

I'm probably not explaining myself well but I have no clue how this stuff works here, and when I've asked around I'm getting different answers from every direction (for example a pharmacist told me something about a drug-cap scheme?? or something similar sounding), including my own GP who doesn't seem to be able or willing to explain anything about this? So I've ended up wondering if it's up to the individual GP to decide for themselves about this. I could be way off the mark, that's why I'm asking.

Thanks folks!

Do you want to get the prescription filled in Ireland? There is a drugs payment scheme available. You pay the first €142 I think; it changed in the budget, in any month as long as it is from the same pharmacy. You can get the form from your local sw office.

I was under the impression that med card holders got free medication? But maybe it doesnt cover fertility drugs.

Neyite

I was advised to apply for the drugs payment scheme when it became apparent that we were going down the assisted conception route. There is a form you can get in the chemist that you fill out and register. It means that your meds for the month are capped at a certain amount - Its €132 but that might change with the new budget?

With regard to your GP re-writing, I dunno. My experience was that the fertility specialist prescribed the drugs depending on the course of treatment they felt necessary, the GP only did the initial referral, but had no part in my treatment. They monitored me each cycle (through scans/ultrasounds/bloods, and the dosage was adjusted the next time.

I know of one clinic in Dublin that insisted the patient and partner repeat all their semen and blood tests with their labs, (and therefore paid through the nose for same!) even though the results were current from their GP.

It would be great if you could find a GP to re-write them, but I suspect that they would be very wary of prescribing drugs they are unfamiliar with, that they cannot monitor.

Best of luck - hope you get a speedy result!

seenitall

Thank you both.

orchidsrpretty wrote: »

I was under the impression that med card holders got free medication? But maybe it doesnt cover fertility drugs.

Yup, that's right. It doesn't seem to cover them if prescribed by a UK doctor; and the same goes for the drugs payment scheme. I talked to someone in the HSE since I last posted.

Thank you Neyite, I'm not TTC at the moment or even close to it, but thank you for good wishes anyway, and the same to you and everyone who's TTC.