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Moving To Canada

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slbarron23

Active Member
Messages
38
I am moving to Canada in August with my partner on a 2 year working holiday visa.

I have done quite a lot of research into diabetic supplies availability and still slightly confused on the insurance/costings.

We are planning on moving to the Banff/Canmore area in Alberta and wondered if anyone had any advice on this province?

I have read up on the Alberta healthcare plan which I understand I can sign up for within 3 months of arriving which covers supplies up to $600 but not insulin?

Is there a preferred insurance company for insulin/ test strips?

From viewing Canadian pharmacy websites insulin seams quite reasonable just to purchase however test strips seem super expensive!

I will be taking quite a bit with me so will probably wait to see if I get any insurance with employment.

Any advice would be appreciated!
 

I live in Ontario, so I can't speak to what is available in Alberta, but what I can say is generally private insurance isn't helpful for diabetes supplies unless you have insurance through your employer. I am self-employed and just buy insulin over the counter because it is cheaper than what I would pay if I had to pay private insurance premiums, and no plan I have found offers enough coverage for a type 1 diabetic anyway. My province covers 75% of the cost of test strips, up to a maximum of $1000 or so, and covers pumps and supplies. I'm sure Alberta has programs that offer some assistance. Despite being a country with universal hospital care, we do not have national pharmacare like the NHS unfortunately.
 
I live in Calgary Alberta but have insurance through my employer that covers 100% of the prescription cost with the exception of the disbursement fee. Will your partner have benefits with his job? Typically they will include spouse or common-law partners.

Alberta Health care will cover doctors appointments, endo visits, the extra testing for vision (regular testing for eye site is not covered but the extra tests related to diabetes is), visits with the diabetic clinic (which can give you meters, insulin pens, etc). You do need to pay for medical forms which are needed if you are getting and Alberta drivers license and on insulin.

Prescriptions I fill through Shoppers drug mart are noted below but I only pay the dispensing fee:
Freestyle lite strips - $89 for 100 strips (1 box). I get 2 boxes and pay $1.98.
Novofine needles - $39.99 for 100 needles (1 box). I get 2 boxes for $5.30.
Levemir and novorapid insulin - 1 box with 5 pen fills... I pay $12.30 and get 3 boxes at a time. Unfortunately my insurance company’s claims part is updating so I can’t check the price Shopper’s actually charges for the insulin. Can check and let you know.

The benefits also cover my libre but that is obtained through an online pharmacy. I pay $9.99 for 4 sensors.

Each year I get a print out from the pharmacy for taxes and total prescription cost is normally around $4,000 and I only pay about 10% of that out of pocket and insurance pays the rest directly.

Wow completely babbled... hopefully that helps some! Benefits are huge! You can get other coverage from the government if you are low income.

Hope you enjoy Alberta! Winter can be brutal and weather can be insane but it is beautiful!! Banff is mega touristy!
 

That’s great info, thanks so much! Hopefully one of us will get a job with healthcare benefits! Will definitely look for that when applying for jobs!

Interesting about the libre - that is ridiculously cheap! It’s a bit of a lottery here as to whether you can get it! I was just about to start on a pump here before I got my visa so might try and see about a libre in Canada. My consultant was part of the research team for the libre but currently in my area it’s not readily available and Abbott aren’t taking any new orders


With regards to the medical forms for driving - is this something that has to be filled in with a doctor?

Thanks!
 
Another Ontarian here... however if you're moving to Canada, you should also know about Diabetes Express, a Canadian online retailer of diabetic supplies that ship all over Canada. They are a licenced pharmacy and also take private insurance/public insurance. Their prices are quite a bit more competitive than Shopper's DrugMart and other retail pharmacies.
https://www.diabetesexpress.ca/
 

If I had to pay out of pocket for test strips, I'd go broke. It'd be cheaper to pay for a FreeStyle Libre out of pocket (around 180 bucks a month), depending on how often you test yourself now.

I'm in Quebec, and I can get 300 test strips a month covered no problem but I've lived here my whole life. If I were you though, I'd get a job + private insurance ASAP and get a CGM and maybe also GLP-1 prescription (if you can get it, off label, I'd just tell a walk-in clinic you're type 2 if I had to, and have done so in the past, and private insurance will often cover it). Ozempic is amazing stuff. 1.5% A1C drop and cut your insulin requirements in half. I can't recommend it enough.
 
Currently googling everything

I have never even heard of GLP-1s/ozempic!

I have recently gone into tresiba from levemir which I found has definitely lowered my hba1c but at the expense of a lot more hypos! I struggle slightly with not being able to change my background day to day due to different activities so not sure how a weekly one would effect me!
 
Hi, just seen this forum. Hope you enjoyed your move to Canada. Did you experience any problems when applying for a VISA? I have no complications or hospitalisation history. One of the visa questions is whether I would require health services while over there- apart from retinopathy screening and annual checkup, is there anything else which needs to be included?
 
Hello @EC2024 Welcome to the forum. Sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but just wondered about medication?
 
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