So, I got a phone call this past week. Apparently the insurance company (or the company I work for) noticed that I hit a magic threshold in their reporting system and it triggered a call to see if there is anything they can do to make my life better (read cheaper I think). I talked to a very understanding nurse who looked at my medical record and said… Oh… you have rheumatoid arthritis and you are taking Orencia. I think that is probably what triggered it.
Duh
It’s like 8000 dollars a month between the infusion center bills and the medicine.
It’s difficult to think about the fact that this is going to continue for the rest of my life to one degree or another. It’s sobering.
I keep thinking about the notification from the drug companies saying that they will help with the cost of the medication if you have private medical insurance. If you don’t have insurance, the cost is so horrendous. I think about where I am and the fact that I have a good job that keeps me in insurance. I don’t know how people deal with the pain if they don’t have the facility to pay for the drugs that stave off the damage and the pain.
Updated: August 20, 2014
Author: Figment of Fitness
Keep the dreams alive
A Figment Of Fitness 
The copay on these drugs should be the same for everyone no matter how they are insured. I am lucky to have a $20 copay for my monthly Humira. In 3 years when my husband retires and we lose the good insurance, I am going to have to make choices. Medicare is horrible in what they pay on these meds. Do I go off it and live with the disability it will cause me? I also take insulin which is also very pricey. I have to take this to live. So if one has to go, it will be the Humira. I’ll deal with it when we get there.
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In my head, I know it is a business. I mean… I KNOW that insurance is a business and it is fundamentally all about the bottom line. But… geeze…
Medicare is horrible on what they pay, and medicare doesn’t qualify for the discount rates that the manufacturers give you for the meds. I pay no mre than $25 for this or $30 for that PROVIDED that I am on private insurance. And I know there are programs like that all over the place. But it is all on the stipulation that your insurance is not federally provided (medicare, medicade… etc).
It’s wrong, and it’s scary.
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