cost of treatment

[ukfan1]

I live in the U.S. I was started on humira and found out it would 437.00 dollars a month. Then my doc wanted to start me on stellara. that would cost me 1800 dollars every 3 months. I really can't see spending every dime I got to control this psoriasis.now wants to put me on soritane and its also pricey and some really bad side effects. I guess what i'm saying is I don't know what to do. any advice out there would be appreciated

[Fred]

That's where it's handy to put locations in profiles, all I can suggest is have a look through some threads and find others from the USA and see if they have a solution.

I know we do have some U.S members that are using the expensive treatments, but I don't know how your health system works.

Sorry I couldn't help more, but hopefully someone else will have a more useful answer.

Oh and to Psoriasis Club by the way.

EDIT: $1800 is a good price, in France it's €3000 which is about $3950

[mataribot]

There are copay assistance cards. Basically, the drug company subsidizes there own medication for up to 10k USD. Some mail order pharmacies won't accept the copay assistance cards, but the card companies may reimburse you for the cost. Talk to your dermatologist about the co pay cards.

[mataribot]

One other thing I for mention...

Humira and Stelara and tier 2/3 biologicals (tiered by cost) They are hard to get approved without failing a tier 1 bilogical. They can be approved first but they require extra paper work for the doctor.

If you can get Stelera approved, I'd recommend it. One of the best drugs for psoriasis out there. With the co pay assistance cards the two loading doses are on the house, and you pay 50 usd every three months after.

Stelara has been approved for home use just recently... The injections are rather painless compared to Enbrel and Humira

[Fred]

There are copay assistance cards. Basically, the drug company subsidizes there own medication for up to 10k USD. Some mail order pharmacies won't accept the copay assistance cards, but the card companies may reimburse you for the cost. Talk to your dermatologist about the co pay cards.

@Mataribot Can I ask out of interest about the Copay Assitance Cards. Do you have to fit any criteria? for example in France you get it free as psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis are classed as long term illnesses and the government health system pays, I think it works the same in the UK.

Also is it available to everyone or is there restrictions on your income etc.

Thanks.

Fred.

[mataribot]

I will make an update later on. There are no income restrictions that im aware of. The only restrictions I know of are that you cannot have federal/local insurance. You need to have private insurance.

[mataribot]

This is the best I can do for now. My hands hurt too much to type more. Also, this task was more difficult that I thought - the manufactures no longer have the terms of service on their website. You must call their hotline. I am sure this is for legal reasons.

I very quick disclaimer: I am not in any way an expert on co-pay cards. The information I am about to provide is strictly from experience and I recommend you call the drug manufacturer for exact information.

The basics:

The co pay assistance cards are similar to secondary insure and cannot be used with Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare and Medicaid cover most biologics, but coverage may vary from state to state. Under no circumstances can submit a claim to other third party companies for reimbursement of the cost covered by the co pay card (use cash). You are only allowed one enrollment per person and the length of the plan is approximately one year or 10k USD (whatever comes first). However, many manufactures extend or reapprove the card. For legal reasons, the terms of the program are not located on the manufactures website; you need to call their hotline.

Humira

Hotline: 1.800.4HUMIRA Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8 PM ET

Stelara:

Hotline: 1.866.571.8570 Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8 PM ET

I have one piece of advice – it’s easier to get a biologic approved by a dermatologist for psoriasis. It’s much more difficult to get it approved for inflammatory arthritis.