RRMS Medications

[remedy4paws]

How can anyone afford MS medications?

[tnolan2006]

Kind of expensive, aren't they?

I'm using this one that is relatively inexpensive comparatively, but off-label:

multiple-sclerosis-research...

Also taking simvastatin which is cheap.

[Tinker-Belle]

Depending on what medication you are wanting to take, you can ask your Neurologist about programs to pay for or, at least, reduce the cost.

[Melinda_ford]

I am not sure what medication are on, but my insurance pays for most of the cost and my copay is still not cheap, however I am enrolled in a prescription assistance program through the medication manufacturer that pays my copay for me, so I pay nothing out of pocket. I have been doing that for about 2 years now. Also, if you can afford it, it is cheaper to get 3 months supply and then you only pay for the copay for 2 months worth, but that usually is a lot to come up with at one time. Definitely talk with your neurologist or the help line for your particular medication and ask them about financial assistance, you can also call MSAA and they can help you find assistance as well.

[Fancy1959]

Remedy4paws, hi, it's Fancy1959, I've been on 4 different therapies over the past three years. While I was still working, I had really good insurance, which I paid for of course. The co-pays were next to nothing. I left that high high stress hell hole and lost the really GOOD insurance I had. The next therapy I had was about $5,000 a month and currently the therapy I'm on now runs about $8,000 a month. The Insurance we could afford left us with us with LARGE co-pays.

Like tinker belle suggested go to your neurologist and have them contact the pharmaceutical rep for the the drug, (therapy), you are on. Often they have zero dollar co-pay assistance programs. The current insurance we have is bad. We get to change in a few months now. My portion of the therapy co-pay after insurance assistance with my current insurance is about $1, 7000.00 a month. I have an IV infusion every 28 days. I simply could not cover the monthly cost. I again called my Neurologists 's office and advised them I would have to get off the therapy because of the cost. They contacted the pharmaceutical rep and they covered the co-pay cost even though the pharmaceutical company didn't normally offer the zero dollar co-pay assistance program..

You have nothing to lose by asking except a little of your time and quite a bit of money you might not have to pay out monthly. I don't know why your neurologist didn't tell you about these programs. There are a lot of them out there. I hope our replies help you. I'm glad you shared your concerns with us, Information is our friend. Together we are stronger! Fight on MS Warrior, fight on!

[remedy4paws in reply to Fancy1959]

I aplied for their copay assistance progrm and was turned down.

[johnMSAA Partner]

First off, welcome to My MSAA Community, remedy4paws ! And yes, as mentioned by Melinda_ford and others, MSAA has a complete resource page of "Prescription Assistance Programs" for:

- MS disease-modifying therapies (DMT drugs)

- Medications that treat relapses

- MS symptom management drugs

We are constantly updating this page to make sure the most recent contact info is included and all the respective assistance programs' info is accurate:

mymsaa.org/ms-information/p...

After that, if you still need more info on programs available to help with medication costs, please don't hesitate to contact our Client Services Helpline: mymsaa.org/msaa-help/helpli...

[Bygonelines]

Which drug are you on? That will make a difference. Do you have private insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, etc) or government insurance (Medicare, medicaid, TriCare, etc).

I deal with insurance companies and drug companies for a living. Feel free to contact me and I can see what I can do. I would have to have details like drug, insurance, copay, etc.

[remedy4paws in reply to Bygonelines]

I am currently on Extavia. (I was on copay assistance but have now been denied.) While on Kaiser insurance it cost me $600 a month. I thought that was bad, until we moved. We are now in Oregon and I can't be on Kaiser any more and am on Moda insurance. My Extavia meds are now $2800. I also have other conditions which require medication.

We must improve healthcare in the US, this is ridiculous.

I am not eligible yet for medicare but it sounds like the situation will be as bad or worse even when I am eligible

[Bygonelines in reply to remedy4paws]

Did you apply to Extavia copay program while on Kaiser or on Moda? Kaiser insurance is not eligible because they have their own program. I called Extavia copay and they said to re-apply using the Moda insurance info. If for some reason you don't qualify they will give you a list of other programs to apply to. You can call Extavia at 1.866.925.2333. I have also located 3 other programs that sometimes have money available to help with copay assistance. PAN Foundation 1.866.316.7263, My Good Days Fund 1.877.968.7233, NORD 1.800.999.6673.

Good luck with getting the help.

[remedy4paws in reply to Bygonelines]

I just applied with Moda and was turned down.

[Sukie427]

It is extremely difficult unless you are very poor or very rich. If you are on a private insurance plan that doesn't cover the drug or that leaves you with a significant co-pay, the drug manufacturers generally have assistance programs whereby you can get your meds for a reasonable co-pay or for free. If you are on a government-assisted plan, such as Medicare Part D, the anti-kickback provision of the Social Security Act prohibits the drug manufacturer from providing any financial assistance whatsoever. Your only hope is that your Part D plan does not cover the drug at all, in which case the manufacturer can assist you by providing the med at little or no charge. If your Part D plan does cover the med, you are usually left with an astronomical co-insurance or co-pay, with which again the drug manufacturer is prohibited from helping you. Your only option for assistance is a charity with funds to assist with that cost. However, if you do not meet their criteria (which they will not divulge to you), you do not qualify for their assistance. Moreover, only certain charities cover certain drugs, and when these charities receive funding, they are so overwhelmed with requests that they run out of funding as quickly as in one week. The problem is that, since the drug companies are allowed to make profits in the US, most of the research and development is done here, and the US ends up subsidizing those countries with socialized medicine where the drug companies cannot make a profit. Therefore, patients in the US, especially the elderly or the completely disabled who rely on Medicare, often cannot afford their meds and face the Hobson's choice of either scrounging up enough money to pay for their meds or taking care of their families and keeping their homes. This is a disgraceful situation where any American cannot get his or her necessary medications. The Social Security Act must be amended by Congress so that everyone has access to their medication. Please help this necessary action by signing my petition on change.org. Here is the Link:

change.org/p/united-states-...

You may not be able to click on it, but please, copy and paste in your web browser. You will be helping to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who are now unable to get their MS medications. Thank you,

Sukie 427

[Pbargal]

I don't know how you feel about Copaxone but as long as your insurance will pay something Shared Solutions will pick up the rest. So no out of pocket expense for that medication. Which is a tremendous load of my shoulder and so far almost two years in and it's still working for me God willing it will keep working.