Asking Help About Health Insurance and Doctor

General
1

Hello, everyone.

First and foremost, please accept my apologies for my English. I am currently enrolled as an English student, and I wish to improve my English skills in the near future.

I’m from Turkey, and for a long time, I’ve been one of the site’s silent members. This is the first time I’ve started a topic and hope it is not against the site’s rules. I owe you all thanks because this site has taught me far too much.

In December 2016, I was diagnosed with PSC and UC, and I was symptomatic at the time. In terms of PSC progress, last year was not a good year for me.

I’ve been in the United States for almost two months and will be here for another nine or ten months for English instruction, and I’d like to take advantage of the opportunity to try the vancomycin therapy to see if it works for me. As you would be aware, it does not work for everyone. It is far too crucial for me to simply like everyone. Because organ donation rates in my country are very low, it appears that I will have a limited chance of finding a living donor from my family due to health difficulties and other factors.

So, to return to the point, as a foreigner, I am absolutely lost in the American healthcare system, so I’m looking for health insurance advice. Because pre-existing conditions, Vanco compensation, and other factors make the situation too complicated. You, as a Vanco user, probably have too much experience with that, and it can be too complicated for a foreigner at times, and the language barrier can also play a role. So, if you have any suggestions for me, please post them here or send them to me via direct messaging. I’ll be grateful.

My second problem is finding a New Jersey doctor who will willingly prescribe Vanco. I apologize if I appear to be pushing this too much, but I know a couple of individuals here who have no idea about the issue and I don’t have a lot of time to figure it out from scratch. I’d appreciate it if you could recommend a doctor in Jersey or New York, or somewhere else where I could travel in a short amount of time.

Thanks to you all in advance.

PS: Because my English is not good enough, please accept my apologies if I had tone issues and if my writing wasn’t as courteous as it should have been.

2

I suspect you will find the cost to buy drug insurance to be more than the cost of buying vancomycin yourself - especially from this low cost source. More affordable vancomycin . I don’t have any advice on how you can get the prescription, that might not be straightforward for you. I really wish you luck.

3

I’m ModSupport, and active on another one of the sites, so can’t offer much assistance with PSC questions. Please don’t apologize for your English, or your tone. It was perfect.

Also, any user can feel free to start a topic.

Sharon from ModSupport

4

Do you have access to health insurance through your school?

I’ve seen recommendations for Dr. Brett Fortune in New York City.

5

YDD,
Thanks for your post. Your English couldn’t be better so nothing to apologize there for. Regarding temporary health insurance while you are here in the States, take a look at this link I found. You may find it helpful. US Health Insurance for Expats, Foreigners and Non-Residents.
Regarding Vancomycin, I can’t give you much advice about NJ physicians, you’ll have to ask around. What I would suggest is that you consult with a transplant hepatologist at a major university or state hospital that does liver transplants. They will be most familiar with PSC and would be more likely to give you a prescription. Since you were diagnosed in 2016, depending on your progression, I can’t say that Vanco will be helpful or not, you will just have to try it and see. Keep in mind that it doesn’t reverse PSC but it has been found to slow or stop the progression of it in certain patients.
Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help.

Mark
PSC 2011 / rPSC 2021, Transplant 2015

6

As JTB noted above, Dr. Brett Fortune is a transplant heptologist in NYC. He is my son’s doctor and prescribes Vancomycin. He is currently associated with Weil Cornell Medical but will be moving to Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx in April/May.
He can be contacted here:
Brett Fortune, MD | Patient Care (weillcornell.org)
Not sure what his fees will be without insurance.

My son gets the Vanco from this pharmacy:
BRONX — Cedra Pharmacy

They next day air the prescription to our house every 2 weeks and have a credit card on file.
Contact me with any questions.

7

Dear @rjm, @ModSupport (Sharon), @jtb, @fcmmark, and @jace0221, thank you so much for your responses. I appreciate that. And I am sorry for my late response due to some issues.

Dear @rjm, Thank you for the suggestion. I had seen the topic before, but thanks to your suggestion, I took note of it. Thank you for your kind wish. That is something I believe I will need.

Dear @ModSupport, Thank you very much for your kind words.

Dear @jtb, No, I haven’t. It is just an English school that does not provide any type of student coverage plan. Thank you so much for giving the name of Dr. Fortune.

Dear @jace0221, Thank you so much for the confirmation and information on Dr. Brett Fortune and the pharmacy. Knowing the names of a doctor (thanks to @jtb and you) and a pharmacy will make things a lot easier for me. I’ll probably get in touch with you about some details.

Dear @fcmmark, Thank you very much for your kind words and recommendations. I am familiar with Cigna, but the company’s web quotes appear fairly high to me. I’m going to look at that website, and I’m sure it will be beneficial. I took note of your advice regarding transplant hepatologists. As I mentioned, I want to know whether Vancomycin is beneficial to me or not while I am and will be in the USA.

Thanks again you all.