Hi,
I take medication for anxiety and slight depression. With my public health insurance in Europe I pay €5 (NT$140)
Today I went to the hospital and being unable to register as i was too late they told me to go to the Pharmacy across the road. I went there and they only did boxes of 28 (half a month) which is 480.
I was dumbfounded as the pharmacy never asked to see my national health insurance card or doctor recommended (in Europe for a this type of medication it’s is a must) so I’m wondering if I went to the doctor would I be able to get more for cheaper?
It’s not super expensive I know but 1000 a month really adds up for something I was getting for so cheap back home.
Do doctors here write prescriptions and does my national health insurance actually cover anything with prescriptions?
Many thanks
You are paying the cost. That is why they never asked for the NHI card.
Go see a doctor and get them to write a prescription. Once they issue you a chronic illness prescription you can go to any NHI pharmacy and get the drugs for free. But the rules say they can only give you 1 month supply at a time and the rest would be given as chronic illness prescription. They have to follow up every 3 months to make sure the treatment is working.
Note the first few times they will want to see you every month to confirm the treatment works and switch if necessary. But the doctors visit with treatment should cost around 700nt.
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I seee. This would make more sense now. I even asked the pharmacist if I went to the doctor would it be cheaper, he told me no which is the reason I decided to just get them.
Oh well, what’s done is done. Thanks so much for the information!
It depends on a lot of things, as NHI doesn’t cover every drugs out there. So if it happens the NHI doesnt cover what you use the doctor can use something the NHI does cover.
But pharmacist aren’t doctors so they don’t always know what’s covered or not. Make sure you go to a major hospital and not clinics because clinics don’t really do long term treatments…
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That’s great. I will do that from now.
Thanks once again 
make sure you’re seeing a psychiatrist for this, not a normal doctor because they won’t prescribe xanax or something. In Chinese it’s 精神科. Doctors will generally speak English if they are any good. Most trained in the US. Try to go for NTU Hospital, Veterans General, and other public hospitals because there are more they can do that private hospitals can’t really do…
If you go to the wrong doctor they’ll still charge you for wasting their time…
Don’t forget that although your out-of-pocket payment will go down from 480 for 2 weeks to maybe 300 for 4 weeks (approx what you paid in Europe), as part of the NHI program, you will be paying in over 5,000 a month. Or, if you are employed here, you are splitting that with your company. Over the long term, it’s still an awesome deal, since a lot of other costly procedures will be covered.
If you are already enrolled in NHI, this is a strong incentive to use the system
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Unless the medication has a short shelf life, most hospital doctors will probably give you 3 one month prescriptions and then you can get the next prescription at the hospital pharmacy at no cost. Before your last prescription runs out, you’ll have to make an appointment for a follow-up and then get another 3 one month prescriptions. Depending on the hospital, it can cost less than $600 for each follow up. I’m familiar with anxiety medication, but some medication requires occasional blood tests and those are also at no extra cost.
Just remember in capitalistic America a follow up can cost 300, blood test 50-100 (depending on tests ordered), if you have insurance copay might be 50, drugs another 20-50 dollar copay, and insurance premium can be up to 500 a month.
U-S-A U-S-A
Assuming it’s an approve medicine, yes. Especially if you’re already paying into NHI. It’s probably free if it is.