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Am I getting Scammed? Health Care in Russia?

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Posted by: rickeyleee

I recently traveled to Yoshkar-Ola and met the women of my dreams and got engaged and submitted my I29F Visa application a few days after getting back. She is 34 and I am 53 and she seems to be perfectly in love with me but there seems to always be a financial disaster of some kind and now she says her 14 year old just had a tuburculosis skin test that came out positive and says she needs 300 dollars to cover the medications for 3 months so that it will be cured before her interview in Moscow and seems to really be worried about it. Everything seems to cost $300. I do not know how the health system works over there but I have an uneasy feeling that she is scamming me a little. My research on Tuburculosis shows that antibiotics must be taken six to nine months to get rid of it. Can anyone shed some light on the healthcare system and what she might have to pay for here. Maybe I should see if I can pay the pharmacy directly with credit card. Thanks Rick



Posted by: neil277

Hi Rickeyleee,

This is one i feel no body can answer except yourself, your heart tells you to do ths for this little girl, but your soul is telling you different?

Russia has hospitals just like any other country and is there service free, i don't know.

I know this might sound harsh but i would not give money untill i do lots of re-search, i was looking at a website today and this is one of the red flags which is used when two people have just got engaged.

If your lady had never met you, how would she have coped with this problem?

I feel things are not as kosha as you would like it to be and no hospital will take credit card payments over the phone.

$300.00 is big money to a normal Russian so i would be careful.

Regards,

Neil



Posted by: James Riske

This is a tough one to call, Rick.

The rule of thumb is to NEVER EVER send money to them at all, no matter what. Even after you meet them, engage them marry them or whatever. NEVER

But here you are already engaged and her kid needs to pass the medical test in order to come here and you've applied for her fiance visa over here.

hmmm?...tough one to call.

Hopefully, someone will come on here from Russia or with experience and tell you if she would have to pay for the treatment or not. I doubt it.

My gut tells me she's scamming you but how would I know?



Posted by: soloBRIAN

The poor child's LIFE is at stake and you squabble over $300 as if it were your last.

Rural China or Africa might offer a better wife package, as those ladies are happy to get one bowl of rice a day. The downside is they don't have internet access, so no love letters.

-Brian



Posted by: Jim_FL

While it is true that hospitals do not charge for services they do charge for drugs, and the price is exactly the same as it is here in the states. Furthermore, a "gift" for the doctor is EXPECTED. You get what you pay for, just like here. Also, dentists DO charge for their services in Russia. $300.00 is not nearly as big a gamble as proposing to a woman you barely know.



One time I was sitting around with my wifes family and "COPS" came on TV. Her father and Uncles laughed out loud and proclaimed "LOOK! their jails are cleaner than our hospitals!"



Posted by: James Riske

Quote:
Originally posted by Jim_FL
$300.00 is not nearly as big a gamble as proposing to a woman you barely know.




Now that I agree with! And many of these sweet little flirty brides have hidden agendas and could care less about you but are very good at pretending, I'll tell you that.

Yes, go ahead and send the three hundred bucks, it's worth it to find out if she's honest or not. In fact, send her four hundred and then know that if she asks for more, she's BSing.

But for God's sake, get to know her better before saying "I do." Have her visit you a couple times, stay with her a few times, spend a few months living together.

James



Posted by: FlashingEyes

So you are engaged to a woman and afraid to send her $300 for medical expenses? This isn't someone you just met via the Internet and don't really know - this is a woman with whom you have made a preliminary marriage commitment. I don't know your financial situation but if $300 is going to hurt, you probably should be looking for a wealthier wife, not one from Russia. An American fiance might ask you for $300 for a new dress, and I for one wouldn't bat an eyelash at that. Send her the cash via Western Union today.



Posted by: neil277

Hello panel,

Its not about being tight with money how would this lady get on if this guy was not in her life?

I would still do more re-search and perhaps contact the hospital i'm sure if everything is in order your lady will be happy for you to do this.


http://www.settlement.org/cp/english/russia/health.html


Regards,

Neil



Posted by: Pin Boy

rickey,

you really don't say much regarding how long you know each other, how much time you apent together...so it's tought o give an opinion...but i'll relate my experience...i thought i knew my GF well...i had been to her home and spent time with her on three different occasions, butr on my last trip there, i had some reservations about her behavior...after returning home, i was asked for $600 (in a very brief email with no epxlanation) for her mother's "sick legs" ...when I balked and asked for more info about her condition, diagnosis, lenght and type of treatmen, i received an email reoly accusing me of being stingy and unreliable and never heard from her again...so my suspicions i believe were valid... the translator we used on my three trips validated my concerns....so, ask yourself, do you really know this person...have you jumped the gun too soon...are there any other red flags that an impartial observer might notice...

good luck

pin boy



Posted by: RomanticTX

300 dlls is nothing! Is that going to make you poorer? I hope not! Is that going to make her rich? Unlikely!
I don't think she would lie on something like that as she would have to involve the kid on the lie.
Put yourself on her shoes! Would you do that?
What could she need the money for? (besides the supposed condition?). If she needs the money for another reason, lets say, pay bills, food, maybe a new dress, wouldn't you pay for that?

Are you ready to have a wife? Let me remind you, THEY ARE EXPENSIVE! 300 dlls is what they could spend on a hair appoinment!

Put things on perspective!



Posted by: neil277

Hello Panel,

First i would like to thank Pin boy on the superb letter and i could not reply because he said everything in a few words.

My English is bad but my skill is in my hands and he said what i was thinking.

The last guy who wrote on this form:

Are you ready to have a wife? Let me remind you, THEY ARE EXPENSIVE! 300 dlls is what they could spend on a hair appoinment!

Put things on perspective!

No, No, No they are not expensive in life, first you have to find a lady who is not high maintenanace and when you find this lady, you have found the perfect person.

Money is the root of all evil and know matter what, i want a lady to love me because i treat her nice not because i give her cash, i am not tight or selfish i'm very kind but money is not what makes a relationship.




Regards,

Neil



Posted by: RomanticTX

Hi Neil,
this is "The last guy who wrote on this form:",

I want to point out that when you marry someone, you are going to pay a lot of money for that person's expenses! If she is the one, and you have asked her to marry you, then paying 300 dlls will be nothing if you take it in context!

So the accoring to you the perfect person is the one who doesn't spend money? Maybe she would cut her own har, manufacture her own clothes, grows her own produce and cooks that? Well, that is not a reality in the western world.
My idea of perection has nothing to do whith what they spend or not! It is all about compatibility!
Emocional, intelectual, sexual and physical (yes there is a diff).

But just as a reference, please call your local salon (and please call a good one, don't call "cut-for-less")and ask how much do they charge for a haicut, hair coloring and nails.
That my dear friend, is BASIC! Not even high maintenance!
You want your partner to look fine? I DO! Then must be willing to pay!

What does 300 dlls buys you now-a-days?

Pet care? my shar pei has allergies, I buy low alergy food (ZD sciencediet) cost 50dlls bag, plus she gets a shot every 21 days. special "greenies" for treats, grooming, I easily spend 300 dlls on my loved dog. Should I dump my Pet?

Clothes? Yesterday I spent more than 300 dlls in a shirt and a tie! Should I dump me?
RomanticTx



Posted by: neil277

Hello Panel,

A good lady from Russia will look after your money and not allways be on the want for things.

When you look for a lady you have to look for a lady you can afford and when you find this lady you keep this lady and work with this lady and ask this lady to your country.

So you lose your job and this lady has rich tastes now she has to suffer because you have no money comeing in, what will happen if this lady is just after money she will move on and this is fact.

My ex was allways talking about money Neil buy me this and when i said no you greedy and selfish man, i am glad this ***** has gone and any man is welcome to this women i would spit on her grave.

I have lady who likes me not because i give money, i never give money and she has never asked for money but because i'm very kind and carm in my voice and allways very kind via phone and e.mail and kind to her mum when her mothers mum died, never sent any money.

I will visit Christmas and told this lady look i can't promise you will like me when we first meet but if we do like each other then world is our oyster.

I don't want a lady who will send me photo's with nothing than a belt around her waist just to try to fox me, i don't want a lady who will sleep with me first night, i want a lady to be with me for life and to start a family and be happy in life not through money but through love.

Regards,

Neil



Posted by: samovar

It sounds suspicious. A positive skin test alone is not grounds for any treatment. It only means that you have been exposed to TB, not that you have it. In fact a large percentage of the world's population will have a positive skin test and once it's positive; it's positive for life.

More dx tests are required to determine if active TB exists. Usually these involve xray and sputum cultures.

On a related subject, in Russia, usually the patient has to pay for drugs; even while hospitalized in a "free" government hospital.

Good luck.

....N



Posted by: neil277

Hello Panel,

I have know problem with this guy paying the $$$$$$$$$$$ but the age gap is the problem and do you know this person so well to send her $300.00?

I have noticed this guy has replied to another website and it would be nice if this guy could let us know what he has done.

We all have different views but we all have this guys best interests at heart.

Regards,

Neil



Posted by: Menehune

I was infected with TB, it is curable with a cocktail of 4 antiboitics taken daily for 6 months. in my case my doctor continue the treatment to insure the bateria was gone from my lungs. Over the 8 months i took 6 kinds of antibiotics but never more than 4 at any one time. I was given a combination of ethambutol, isoniazid, pyrazonamide, rifampicin, and streptomycin. some may have to continue the treatment for up to a year if test results show you sitll have the antibodies.

The 3 months treatment you mentioned her daughter needs sound sketchy. I may be wrong and Russian doctors may only put patients on a 3 months treatment.

I was warned by my doctor that if i stop taking my meds b4 6 months i may develop active TB. I thought he was just trying to scare me so i looked it up on the net. I found many articles and studies suggesting that those who stopped their treatment usually develop active TB.

I suggest you look it up yourself.



Posted by: rattlesnake6979

The treatment of TB is not something I am qualified to advise on but from research on the internet it would seem that TB treatment relies on a cocktail of several drugs which must be taken for the entire lenghth of the treatment - this is usually a six month course of drug therapy . The interruption of the treatmnet may lead to drug resistance and so it is adviseable that the full course is adhered to . The cost is expensive .... TB is treatable but as from the previous response it depends on a number of drugs.

Rattle



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