Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mulvey]

I'm a type 1 diabetic looking to move to Korea from the U.S. I wear an insulin pump and take Humalog Insulin lispro.

I'm looking for a TEFL job, in which case I'd be covered under the National Health Insurance. Does this plan cover my insulin prescriptions and my pump supplies? (Medtronic, the supplier of my pump supplies, has a branch in Korea). How much will it cost me otherwise?

Also, I noticed you need to take a health examination upon your arrival in Korea. Will diabetes pose me any problems?

If anyone has any experience living in Korea with diabetes, could you please let me know about any problems you've faced?

Thank you!

[bendunn]

Yeah, I'm not on the pump, but I am concerned about insulin availability and there seems to be a tendency to answer with "I had a friend who..." or "Go to Seoul". I've tried contacting the Korean Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.or.kr/english/), and the National Health Insurance Corp. to no avail regarding an answer such as: "Yes(no), NHIC does(n't) cover the insulin and delivery materials for foreigners with pre-existing diabetes".

I'm sorry to sound nit-picky, but it is intimidating to travel or move and assume that things will work out once there. Not everyone can obtain a year's insulin supply at once, or maintain health insurance at home.

Thanks

[Lizara]

The health plan does cover a lot of the cost of insulin, but as of the last time I tried, about three years ago, it was so hard to get it here that I just paid the extra cost to have my parents ship it from Canada.

[tzechuk]

Lizara is right - the insurance won't cover a whole lot. My mother in law is a diabetic and she pays quite a lot each month to get her meds.