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HOW much is my prescription???

January 25th, 2008 at 11:00 am

I went to pick up my first monthly supply of Copaxone, the new med I will be taking for MS. I knew it was going to be expensive; without insurance it is about $24,000 a year. But luckily, I have insurance.

Except for some reason, my insurance won't pay for it! When I picked it up (or went to, anyways), the pharmacy gave me a AAA member discount, but it was still $1,800!!! A month!!!! ACK!!!!!

So, I came home without the meds, freaked out, and called the insurance company. They were closed. Grrrr... Calling today to find out what is going on. Something about it being a brand name drug and me not being at a network pharmacy, I think. Of course, this is the same pharmacy I go to for all my other generic and brand name meds every month...

I just go so angry and frusterated at insurance companies. In my mind, they are helpful in one way b/c they keep you from paying astronimical fees, but sometimes, it seems like they are just in it for the money and they think it is OK to mess around with their clients prescriptions and health. Grumble, grumble...

9 Responses to “HOW much is my prescription???”

  1. rduell Says:
    1201263746

    Ack!!!! That would have probably put me in a coma to hear that price!

    Medical insurance is just insane. We had to change companies this year. We got a notice in September that our premiums were going up 52%!!! We managed to change over from Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield to UPMC. We now have better coverage for quite a bit less money a month. Now I'm just waiting to see how much they raise our premiums next year.

  2. denisentexas Says:
    1201267570

    Koppur, I would have freaked out, too! My insulins and other meds come to about that much per month and I don't have insurance. It's tough I know! Frown Hopefully the insurance company WILL pay that!

  3. littlemama Says:
    1201270822

    Can you get a script thru Merck (mail order)? For our on-going meds we order 3 mos. at a time and save a substancial amt of money.

  4. JanH Says:
    1201299857

    Ouchies! Wonder if the insurance is kicking it out because it is a new med to them and they aren't recognizing it yet. Maybe your doc can help there. Hope it gets resolved in your favor really soon!

  5. scfr Says:
    1201315041

    Sure hope you can get it all straightened out with the insurance company! Hang in there.

  6. Amber Says:
    1201319374

    Talk with your doctor about a different drug that may be similar and less expensive. Also there is a national drug card that gives discounts to those who do not have insurance or the drugs are not covered by thier plan. Here is what FL's look like:
    http://www.pbcgov.com/publicaffairs/rx/
    Also some of those drug makers give you discounts as well
    check out these links, hope they help:
    http://www.needymeds.com/
    https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php
    http://www.rxoutreach.com/en/
    Dont forget to check your state programs
    the links above was from my library website
    Good luck

  7. boomeyers Says:
    1201322258

    Costco has the cheapest drugs, so if you do have to pay for it yourself, you might try to see how much it would be there. I think you can even look up prices on thier web site.

  8. koppur Says:
    1201376529

    thanks for all the advice!!

  9. fern Says:
    1203707578

    I haven't been around here much lately but had been wanting to ask you how you're doing with the MS. I hope you get that straightened out with the meds and pharmacy; my MS has sure stressed me out plenty of times, and i'd have to say that half the time it has to do with expense reimbursements as much as the symptoms.

    Being single and not having the luxury of a spouse's health plan, you will need to be very, very careful about always having coverage for the MS meds. So if, say, you got laid off, be sure to get COBRA.

    I also take Copaxone. In 7 years they will lose their patent. In most cases, that means generics can go on the market, meaning major cost savings for us, but i read that Copaxone is such a unique drug that it might not be possible to Tea-Marion, the Israeli company that makes it, to genericize it. And by that time, too, i figure they will have come up with an oral form of Copaxone or something similar, but of course, being a new drug, those pills will be super expensive, just like Copaxone is now, so i sometimes daydream about what i would do faced with the choice of paying less for a cheaper Copaxone injectable drug (assuming it will get cheaper when the patent runs out) or paying big prices for pills instead. It would be a VERY hard decision. I think i'd have to go with the pills.

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