Like some of you, I have the AARP United HealthCare Part D Walgreens plan. I'm in California if that makes a difference. I placed my first 2023 abiraterone (250 mg, 30-day supply) order (through Optum) yesterday, and they were delivered today. My copay was $660.95.
Of course this copay goes down as I progress through the different stages of Medicare Part D. But the $660.95 gave me some sticker shock. I'm too lazy to dig up what I paid in Jan 2022, but I think it was less. What have some of you others paid, with my plan and with other Part D plans?
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Part of what you paid is the annual deductible. I believe the annual deductible for the AARP Medicare Walgreens plan is $350. So the next time you refill the prescription it should be about $310.95. But that still seems high. In December I paid $191 for a 90 day supply on a Cigna Part D plan. But Cign changed that plan for 2023 so I switched plans. I haven't refilled the prescription yet, but when I do I expect to pay about $240 for a 90 day supply after I satisfy the deductible. My new plan is AARP Medicarerx Saver Plus and I use the specialty pharmacy at my hospital.
I had the same plan minus the walgreens designation ,also in California and I think mine was around $220 last year. I think I signed up tfor the same plan this year, I'll check and let you know when I order my first for this year in a week.
This is quite affordable. Please let me know how someone in Nigeria can benefit from this. Over here in Nigeria, things are very difficult when it comes to Medicare. I will really appreciate any help on how to get the drug.
We have Aetna insurance, not Medicare, but my husband’s doctor sends in a coupon each year and our copay each month goes to $5 a month. The coupon lasts a year and has to renew.
Otherwise it would be $350 a month for us. We have never paid more than $10 a month through CVS specialty pharmacy and our co-pay has only been $5 for the last two years.
Since the doctor handles the coupon, I don’t know the details of it, but it is worth asking your doctor about!
(Doctor is at Johns Hopkins and he and their pharmacy set up the coupon.)
We've got BCBS for supplemental health care and Humana's lowest tier for drug coverage. The BCBS costs about $1500/6 mos. and Humana $320/year. Humana has been paying $6000/mo. for Xtandi and Astellas picks up the rest. With Medicare/BCBS we've paid nothing out of pocket other than the ins. cost.
I found that paying cash is cheaper. I only take 3 tablets daily and I pay $160 a month. I see the Mark Cuban pharmacy is offering it for $125. I have Aetna plus Medicare.
I have the AARP Walgreens Preferred Plan in Florida. I'm not on abiraterone yet, but supposedly AA will cost about $110/month after deductible of about $350. I rechecked it before renewing in November, but haven't checked it again since.
Ironically, the best price under that plan is not at Walgreens, but at Publix pharmacy (Publix is a large grocery chain headquartered in Florida).
It would seem there could be significant variations depending on manufacturer’s market price and maybe contractual arrangements between the manufacturers and the pharmacies too. My MO set me up with a mail order pharmacy in Florida that sources the AA I’m getting from a manufacturer in China.
That mail order pharmacy files the insurance claim through the Optum mail order pharmacy associated with the AARP Medicare Walgreens Part D plan.
When I go to the Part D insurance plan website and look at the drug claims I’m seeing the total drug cost for the AA Rx fill in Jan. 2023 is about half of what the total drug cost was in Dec. 2022. And when I go to the Medicare website to check the “estimated” total monthly drug cost for AA filled via Optum in 2023 it’s shown as being more than triple what the UHC website shows for total cost in Dec. 2022????????
Very confusing. The following video is from the Medicare website:
And I just now got a call from my MO’s nurse to advise that I’ll likely be getting 500mg instead of 250mg. AA tabs going forward; as the mail order pharmacy called to request a new Rx for that dosage due to a shortage of 250mg. tabs.
I have not used Mark Cuban's company but just looked up aberaterone. Looked very inexpensive to me if i understand it correctly. $39 for 30 days? Here is the website.
I would get a 3 month prescription of 1000 mg and then use the 250 mg dose to last the full year. If that dose is effective for you. Better to stock up before the end of the year if you are in the catastrophic coverage phase. Also can order generic Abi from India as an option to explore. Or even cash pay pricing at a different pharmacy where they do not have your Medicare Part D info at all, and use a Drug discount card to app.
I was on Abiraterone for about two years, and it worked well until it didn’t. Expensive stuff!
I have Medicare (I’m 77) and private health insurance through Humana. These two insurances still left me with a good amount to pay monthly
BUT: With the help of the hospital pharmacy, I discovered the PAN Foundation, which grants financial assistance IF the funds are available at the time of application and if the request is approved. And, if funds at that specific time are unavailable, they let you know when it opens up again so you can re-apply.
Bottom line: in all that time, I NEVER paid anything for the Abiraterone. It was covered every month.
There are many foundations that offer financial assistance - something I’m counting on, now that I’ll be starting Pluvicto. Yikes, $$$!!
Thank you for all the replies. I've concluded at least two things:
1) If you also need many other prescription drugs besides abiraterone, it's hard to compare Medicare Part D plan options without considering each of your specific drugs. Various drugs are in different tiers with different copays.
2) If you have a Part D plan and need many other prescription drugs besides abiraterone, it may be cheaper to pay more for abiraterone within the plan than to buy abiraterone for a lower per mg price outside the plan. This has to do with how fast you progress through the Part D phases while paying the copays for all your other drugs.
For the record, my cost for a 30-day supply of 250-mg abiraterone (120 tablets) in December 2022 was $92.90.
I'm in PA & looking at part D plans as soon will be 65. Does your regular Walgreens stock abiraterone or do you get it from Walgreen Specialty Pharmacy? If so, by mail or do they send to your local Walgreens? Thanks.
I first ordered it from my local Walgreens. After that, the specialty program called me to ask if I had any questions etc. Since then, I get calls from them telling my it's out of stock and late, they then put me on hold to call the local store. I decided to bypass the middle man and deal with the manager at my local store. One side doesn't know what the other is doing. It's best to get to know the local manager and they be able to handle it all.
My AARP United Health Care Walgreen's Part D requires me to order my abiraterone through Optum (an online pharmacy, which I believe is owned by United Healthcare). Their calls and emails reminding me that I'm nearing the time for a refill are a bit annoying, but in four years I've never had a problem with deliveries.
Looking further, abiraterone with AARP Walgreens plan is more expensive at Walgreens than the hospital pharmacy I use now. But, when looking at the ...lutemides, Walgreens is less. I guess, if I pick that plan, I can use my current pharmacy while on abi and switch to Walgreens if & when switch meds. Any other meds to be looking at for cost comparisons?
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