I'm shopping for health insurance and I'm wondering if there's any way I can get coverage for prescription medications when I'm out of state. The plans I'm looking at don't seem to have it and I'm wondering if this is even a thing.
My insurance company covers me nationwide. I think it's called Highmark Blue Shield.
I find that being out of the country is a bigger issue. I've been a consumer of medical services in Mexico and China, and I'm quite impressed with the quality of the medical services in China, although not so much in Mexico. In neither of those countries does Highmark contract. Still, the price for services is only a tiny fraction for the price of similar services in the USA, so paying cash for them doesn't really present a problem.
As for drugs, the policies seem much more liberal in both China and Mexico than in the USA. Many items that require a physician's or psychiatrist's prescription in the USA are sold over the counter there. Prices are much lower than here as well. But in different states I haven't noticed much, or in fact any, difference. The insurance pays the same for a gram of Valium in Idaho as it pays for a gram of valium in California, and it covers the cost for it in both states, although I think I might have a ten-dollar copayment for most drugs. If your company isn't covering you in all fifty states, then you should pick a different one. If you find one that covers you when you get injured outside the United States, let me know about it.
