BajaNomad

Any problems receiving meds through the mail in CSL?

jeans - 2-21-2010 at 12:57 AM

Tonight I met an American woman who lives full time on the west cape. She receives her mail at a Mail Box Etc. in CSL. Until recently she and her mother, who lives with her, have received their prescribed medications in the mail. These medications are not available in Mexican farmacias.

Around the first of February MBE has begun refusing receipt of these packages citing pressure by the government. My friend was told that MBE is looking for a solution, but it might cost them more.:?:

She's here now to get her meds, but for obvious reasons flying in to go the the drug store is not a viable option.

Has anybody else in that area encountered this roadblock? She was not told specifically that mail-order meds were illegal. Are they? They are shipped from the US, with legal prescriptions.

arrowhead - 2-21-2010 at 02:46 AM

The only two legal ways to bring prescription drugs into Mexico are (1) carry them in on your person and you have to be the person to whom the drugs are prescribed; or (2) have them imported through a customs broker and the broker has to obtain an Autorizacion Sanitaria to import them.

It has always been illegal to mail or fed-ex drugs into Mexico, but not enforced. I guess they are getting serious.

wessongroup - 2-21-2010 at 05:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by arrowhead
The only two legal ways to bring prescription drugs into Mexico are (1) carry them in on your person and you have to be the person to whom the drugs are prescribed; or (2) have them imported through a customs broker and the broker has to obtain an Autorizacion Sanitaria to import them.

It has always been illegal to mail or fed-ex drugs into Mexico, but not enforced. I guess they are getting serious.


Thank you that was the way I understood the process also...

it's working!

woody with a view - 2-21-2010 at 09:08 AM

the war on drugs, that is....

[Edited on 2-21-2010 by woody in ob]

Santiago - 2-21-2010 at 09:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jeans
Until recently she and her mother, who lives with her, have received their prescribed medications in the mail. These medications are not available in Mexican farmacias.


This seems odd to me; if she were able to obtain a prescription from a mexican physician for these drugs shouldn't the farmacia be able to order them?
Or are you saying that there are drugs available in the US but not in Mexico? Normally just the opposite.

wessongroup - 2-21-2010 at 09:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Santiago
Quote:
Originally posted by jeans
Until recently she and her mother, who lives with her, have received their prescribed medications in the mail. These medications are not available in Mexican farmacias.


This seems odd to me; if she were able to obtain a prescription from a mexican physician for these drugs shouldn't the farmacia be able to order them?
Or are you saying that there are drugs available in the US but not in Mexico? Normally just the opposite.


Just a guess... insurance payments on precriptions written in Mexico.. not allowed.. you come out of pocket... and isn't that the American way.. gee, just think if one could get a precription written and filled in Mexico... with shippment into the United State or coming back the other way... and have it payed by ones insurance coverage :saint:

jeans - 2-21-2010 at 10:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Santiago
Quote:
Originally posted by jeans
Until recently she and her mother, who lives with her, have received their prescribed medications in the mail. These medications are not available in Mexican farmacias.


This seems odd to me; if she were able to obtain a prescription from a mexican physician for these drugs shouldn't the farmacia be able to order them?
Or are you saying that there are drugs available in the US but not in Mexico? Normally just the opposite.

Let me clarify. These are US prescribed medications. It is my understanding that since they cannot be obtained in Mexico, they cannot be prescribed by a Mexican physician. I could be wrong. (I will suggest the Mexican importation route, but that may be what Arrowhead suggested) In one case, a substitute drug that is available in MX did not work.

I would think that with the number of retired Americans in MX this is a significant issue. If MX does not provide the needed medications, they should not prevent legal residents from obtaining what they need to survive without resorting to the subterfuge which has been suggested through U2Us.

Love the new avatar, Santiago. It's so you.

jeans - 2-21-2010 at 11:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by wessongroup

Just a guess... insurance payments on precriptions written in Mexico.. not allowed.. you come out of pocket... and isn't that the American way.. gee, just think if one could get a precription written and filled in Mexico... with shippment into the United State or coming back the other way... and have it payed by ones insurance coverage :saint:


Good point!

Woooosh - 2-21-2010 at 12:22 PM

I'll bet you dollars to donuts- if you took a poll about why so many Nomads live near the border you'd get answers like VA Care, Medicare Providers and Prescription Drugs paid for by Medicare or VA.

I had a friend in Puerto Vallarta die after waiting too long to fly back to the USA for treatment. He knew he was sick- so why did he move so far away? One consideration every person considering becoming an expat should be "Where will we get the medical care and drugs we may need?" (as we get older- most people need more of both). People need to choose wisely and not depend on a foreign country's whims whether or not you get the medicines they need. Beyond that it- once again, comes down to an individuals comfort level with medical isolation. And that's the level before an earthquake strikes or a tsunami hits (even the USA couldn't get it right after Katrina).

bajalou - 2-21-2010 at 01:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Santiago
Quote:
Originally posted by jeans
Or are you saying that there are drugs available in the US but not in Mexico? Normally just the opposite.


There are many drugs that are available in the US by prescription that are not available in Mexico at all.

jeans - 2-21-2010 at 01:20 PM

My parents moved to Rosarito 25+ years for the affordability of a cliff-side home that he built himself, while still working stateside. Health care was not an issue they took into consideration at the time, hence the occassional queries I put out trying to find services for them...now it's on me to get them help now that they are in their 80's and firmly entrenched in the idea of staying put.

Their costs are only a few hundred dollars a month. They can't get an apartment anywhere in SD countyfor that!

This query was not intended to resurrect the debate on healthcare options for the American expat population, just to inquire about the mailling meds to Baja issue. :biggrin: Yes...it's part of that conversation.

Anybody have anything else to add to the mailing of meds topic?

arrowhead - 2-21-2010 at 01:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
One consideration every person considering becoming an expat should be "Where will we get the medical care and drugs we may need?" (as we get older- most people need more of both).


Yeah, Mexico is no country for old men. :rolleyes:

wessongroup - 2-21-2010 at 01:32 PM

You can receive them by mail, if the amount is small.. that is what I have been told.. the service which we have just started with, will bring them across... provided that the amounts are "reasonable"

They go up on Mondays and Wednesdays for pick-ups.. at their mail drop in the states, both P.O. Box and "street address address".

Not sure if that helps.. but, I'm sure most of the "mail services" must do small pickups.. the day we signed up for the service a lady was picking up a "box" of medication ... the owner was asking that she NOT received a years supply at one time.. and explained to the individual that "they" would bring them back down.. but, would rather do it in a very discrete manner..

I'm sure that you can find a service which will take care of this issue.. :):)

CaboMagic - 2-21-2010 at 05:57 PM

Hi jeans ... at the risk of being/sounding not at all helpful I will do so anyway and say "Everything Changes and Everything Remains The Same" ... it's one way today and another in a few mananas ... much patience and strength dealing with any issues concerning your parents. . glad they are relatively close to the border for needs that may arise.
It so often seems the old wind changes direction, and so too does the answer and rules concerning 'it' ... thus the need to go with the flow and accept it 'ni modo' amiga .. call me anytime .. L

fishingmako - 2-21-2010 at 05:59 PM

I have heard that all meds are to be stopped from any mail box pick up in the States, you must bring them back in hand yourself with a prescription stating so that you are the person it is for, again heresay?? another intervention on peoples lives, what is next?? people need their meds and have no way but by somone picking them up for them.

You are right WOOOOSH.

garynmx - 2-22-2010 at 04:08 AM

This was the main reason I moved from Cabo to Rosarito Beach. I could not get my meds anymore. Sometimes it would slip thru but Mail Box etc would charge me $20.00 USD to give them to me. My insulin needles never got thru. I like Cabo better then Baja Norte but it was impossible to stay there with my medical conditions. Now I just drive across border and pick up my meds at PO. It is really nice not to have to worry about getting them.

Santiago - 2-22-2010 at 07:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jeans
I would think that with the number of retired Americans in MX this is a significant issue. If MX does not provide the needed medications, they should not prevent legal residents from obtaining what they need to survive without resorting to the subterfuge which has been suggested through U2Us.


jeans: Maybe try some internet boards from Guadalajara - I just can't believe that with the huge ex-pat population there that work-arounds are not in place.

I have asked this question before to stunning silence but seems to me an enterprising med group in the states would join with one in Guadalajara, patients would be seen in MX but the paperwork done in the US. We export all kinds of jobs to Mexico, why not this too?
With respect to certain drugs available in the US but not MX: does this mean that the drugs are not legally available at any price or that the ex-pat just won't be reimbursed by the US insurance company? If the former, is this an issue of a drug not being approved for use or simply that the manufacturer has not done whatever they are supposed to do in order to sell their product in MX?
Where do farMAcias (I used to pronounce it 'far-ma-CI-a' until last week's spanish class) get their drugs? Do they order from a private supply chain or must they get their drugs from a government warehouse?