Medicals And Epilepsy

[CHORLEY GIRL]

HI EVERYONE

I'm a new member:)
Only in early stages but will obviously have to go through a medical like everyone else.
We are applying on State Sponser so will only get temp visa, so i presume this means we will have to get private insurance?

However my question is myself and my partner have medical conditionsi have Epilepsy although i have not had a seizure for 2 years and my partner has a bad back, bulging disc to be precise. So we are both on quite a lot of medication. Where do we stand with this can anyone give us any advice as to whether we should mention these conditions in our medical as i have been told they don't investigate unless you provide the info, so they wouldn't find out.

Also where do we stand with medication is it going to cost us a fortune when we get out there? They have tried to get my partner to have an operation here in the Uk but the operation is quite risky so we are a bit torn as to what to do. Have it before we go or just get out there. It sounds like were on deaths door but we both work and leed a normal life.

Any info would be brill

[Libby1971]

For your meds, you need to take with you copies of a letter from any consultant involved in your care..ie a neurologist at the very least. They need to state what the medical condition is, how it is being treated AND what the prognosis is for the future - 6 months, 1 year, ten years.

It is the likely expense to Australia that will be the crucial point.

You absolutely must declare any and every medical condition you have. Random checks are done and if you are found to have lied on one part of your form, you could be immediately rejected or face alot more scrutiny. I personally only just coped with the meds by telling the absolute truth - BUT we also had the appeals process ready to run with because I was so sure we would get declined.

There is no prepayment certificate here or medical exemption cert here. You pay for your meds which for epilepsy are issued monthly adn you have to wait till day 20 before getting your next script. It costs a max of $30 per item on a script but could be a bit less. Each time you pay it goes towards a total amount. Once you spend $1000 or just over it on prescriptions, it triggers the Pharmaceautical Benefit Scheme - PBS - and this means your prescriptions cost about $4 for the rest of the year.

Downside? It isn't actually that easy to spent that much on prescriptions in time to receive much benefit

Libby

[CHORLEY GIRL]

Thanks for that Libby,

really useful info just worried that Toms back is going to effect us getting in as he is the main applicant.

Especially with him possibly needing an operation in the future. I was wondering if it would be possible to get our medication sent over from the uk my mum could collect the perscription. Once we get our perm visa would be covered for all our medical costs perscriptions etc.

Myself and partner have always worked so providing we have our medication our conditions won't pose a problem.:)

[Hayshake]

Sorry to put a dampener on prescriptions from the UK. My wife has to have loads of medication and our local GP will only prescribe up to 3 month in advance.
We have just arrived back in England after 7 months in Aus. and I have just collected her first prescription from the local chemist. When we return in about 3 months, we will hope that we can take another 3 months supply, as her drugs cost us about A$100 a month, some of which qualify for the PBS scheme, and some which we buy privately, as they are cheaper off of the shelf, and do not qualify for the PBS amount.
Again it is best to mention every medical condition. I forgot that I had been diagnosed years ago with asbestosis, and as soon as the radiographer took my xrays, they reported the fact that this was a problem with my lungs. Fortunately with a good report from a local NSH consultant that I was okay, we got our parent visa without problems, although it did delay it's issue.

[CHORLEY GIRL]

Thanks Hayshake
lookin like were just going to have to pay for our medication it's just going to be a case of finding out how much it's going to cost us.
Is there a website i can check up how much medication costs and whether it is in the scheme.
THANKS AGAIN

[lynne]

If you leave England for 3 months than your GP should remove you from his practice list. As keeping you on the list is commiting fraud.

Aus allocate a certain amount to spend on you for medicaton, so if you are within this allowance you should be alright.

But also they will look into the long term affect of your medical condition and how its going go affect you ability to work now and in the long term. If its going to affect your ability to work than I think you will have difficulty passing the visa. However, I do not know if this applies to short term visa but it definately applies to long term.

It took us several months to sort out our family health problems and get the visa.

Take all the specialist letters with you and you need an up to date letter stating how your problem affects your activities of daily living and how it may affect your ability to work in the long term

Lyn

[CHORLEY GIRL]

Hia Lynn

it has never affected my work so if the specialist will write a letter along with my doctor and place of work and say that i am now on the correct medication and it is well controlled and it shouldn't affect my future employment i am hoping this will be enough.

Thanks Lynn

[lynne]

Hia Lynn

it has never affected my work so if the specialist will write a letter along with my doctor and place of work and say that i am now on the correct medication and it is well controlled and it shouldn't affect my future employment i am hoping this will be enough.

Thanks Lynn

Its all about the future in Aus so they will want to know what will happen in your working lifetime and if there is any possiblity you will not be able to work.

They will not accept the letter from the GP, they will need a letter from a back specialist consultant and than if they are not happy they will than ask you to pay to see a private specialist and give you a time period for the report to be sent to immigration.

The specialist can only write on the "balance of probability" and will base it on research of chronic back conditons.

Good luck but be prepared with all the documents.

lyn

[Bex & Nick]

They have tried to get my partner to have an operation here in the Uk but the operation is quite risky so we are a bit torn as to what to do. Have it before we go or just get out there.

Bear in mind that if you get private medical insurance you won't be covered for pre-existing conditions for the first 12 months usually. That being said, if its medically necessary it should be covered by medicare. The medicare systems seems to be quite loose as to what is considered medically necessary.

[Libby1971]

I had an issue when I went as my consultant had retired 6 months before and no-one had told me. They also had not appointed a replacement so in the end I requested copies of all correspondance between my GP and consultant which I got from my GP. This was acceptable as it clearly showed the consultant but do not rely on your GPs word being good enough.

Libby