(Updates are in RED.)
There is a lot to work out for a long trip, and getting the prescription medication and supplies for medical devices are complicated – especially if you are going to be without an address for the whole trip. So my first question was to Viking Cruises. Is it possible to have my standard 3 month supply of medication sent to the ship? And the answer was no — that hadn’t worked too well in the past. They said I would need to bring enough medication to cover the entire trip.
My next step was to contact my insurance carrier, Blue Cross Blue Shield. I have the Federal version rather than a state version, so that seems to add another layer of complexity. I contacted Blue Cross Blue Shield on February 2nd, and by March 3rd (and much effort by Blue Cross Blue Shield Customer Care), we had an answer — or really a set of answers.
1. All regular prescription medications that would be filled by a pharmacy.
Because this process is complicated and time-consuming, the Customer Care Representative recommended that one doctor manage all the prescriptions for the trip. So one month before we leave, the doctor is to write prescriptions for everything we need and for a “6-month” amount. Our journey is only 4.5 months, but they need a month of room for the process, which brought us up to 5.5 months, and it is easier for them if we rounded up to 6 months. Then the doctor sends that into the mail-order pharmacy, and it will be rejected. After the rejection, the doctor sends in a letter as to why we need 6 months, and then the prescriptions enter the “Vacation” process. Hopefully, this completes before we get on the ship! Because of the holidays, we probably need to start this process before Thanksgiving.
It didn’t quite work like this. The doctor wrote all the prescriptions for 6-month amounts and put a note on them for an extended vacation and submitted them electronically to Caremark. Two prescriptions were modified after they arrived at Caremark to reduce the amount to 3 months, and then they were shipped! All this in one day. Others came back saying they would send in January (after we leave!). We got on the phone to Caremark to get these all fixed. The Customer Service Representative was responsive and made a lot of changes to make the prescriptions ship for the correct amounts, and before we leave. For the ones she could fix, she needed to know 1) When were we leaving the country, 2) How much of each medication we had on hand today, 3) how many days of medicine we needed.
For the two that shipped with the wrong amount, Caremark requested that the doctor send new 90 day prescriptions for those, and once they were rejected, I could call back and get those fixed too. Those two showed up with a delayed delivery date today, so Monday, I will get back on the phone to Caremark, and this should be done.
2. Medications directly from a doctor’s office.
This one ended up being relatively straightforward. All my antigens for allergy injections come directly from the allergist. All she has to do is give me six months of the antigens at once. And the insurance will just cover their share without drama. Finding a place to keep these refrigerated on the ship is still a work in progress.
3. Medical equipment and supplies.
This ended up being the most difficult at the start, but maybe not in the implementation. Although I have Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal, I live in Texas, so Blue Cross Blue Shield TEXAS is responsible for processing most of my medical expenses. Caremark covers all the usual prescription medications and standard vaccines. After much research, it turned out Blue Cross Blue Shield CALIFORNIA is responsible for processing medical equipment and supplies. And once the Customer Care Representative figured that out, answers seemed pretty straightforward. For these items, instead of going through a process where it gets rejected first and then enters a “vacation” process, the doctor’s letter goes with the original order, and supposedly it will go through on the first try. But they did suggest starting a month early just in case.
UPDATE: This did work as planned for the most part. We didn’t have any problems with the insurance but did have a glitch in that the provider accidentally packed the wrong supplies in my delivery. Fortunately, we did this early enough in December that they had time to correct the error. Wonder who got my supplies?
Now once we have all the medications, you would think all we have to do is pack it. No, it doesn’t work that way. Prescription medication is not allowed in baggage — TSA requires all prescription medicines to be in your carry-on luggage.
I have had many questions about this from friends, so I will update this later to let you know how it all really worked.
