I live in the US. Urso is not covered by my medical insurance, because it is not considered "preventive". It is very expensive. For generic brand, I pay about $500/3mo supply, 1000mg/day.
I wonder if this medication covered in other countries? Is it expensive or cheaper than in the US?
I get my Urso from pharmstore.com inCanada. I pay $125 for 3 months of Urso. I take 3 pills at 300 mg a day. I find that they are very reliable and their customer service is excellent.
Thank you very much! This is a huge difference! Are there any logistics in buying this meds in Canada from the US? Do you need to fill out any special papers from the doctor or anything like that?
In New Zealand most medications including Urso are virtually completely government funded, with people paying a small contribution per item. I pay $NZ15 for 3 months worth of Urso, so that's $NZ5 per month or just under $US4. Also, once you or your immediate family pay for 20 new items in a year, you can apply for a subsidy and pay no more for medications that year. When I read how much people in the US are paying for their medications I feel very grateful for having the NZ health system.
Yes, prescription drug prices in the US are exorbitant. We hope our new president will make positive changes in our Healthcare system. It's great your system works so well. But, in the meantime, I am stuck with the huge expense. Will try to order in Canada, if it is cheaper.
All the best to you!
Check Mexico and India as well
At the present time with our NHS all prescribed medication is covered by a basic cost of 8 pounds 50p for up to 2 months supply ( although at discretion of gp). However, once you reach 60 all prescribed medicine is free. Thank goodness for our NHS. Unfortunately, our present government are trying time privatise it so we could be paying the same price as you!
Let's hope not! 
US is trying to address the high prices on prescription drugs. There are many reasons for it. Some of them, are pure politics and regulations. I just hope that we see our drug prices come down too.
Thanks for the information!
Be well!
There is no way prescription drugs coming down soon! It may go up if ACA falls apart..but for you to save money you need to start researching in computer..
Good luck
In Scotland our prescriptions are free .
I take 750mg per day (film coated powder tablets) and the cost is 39€ per month. Brand is ursofalk. I live in the Republic of Ireland.
I also live in Ireland and pay €54 per month 🤤 where do you live ?? I'm I Dublin
Hi there, I live just outside Dublin in Co Kildare. Get your prescription in Boots. It's way cheaper than other pharmacies. Leave your script with them and they'll text you each month or however often you wish to collect it to let you know it's ready.
Thanks so much for that I will do that we have a boots near us so will pop in there .I'm on 1000mg a day .
I live in Wales, UK and we don't pay for prescriptions but i once got a box that the pharmacy had left the price ticket on and it was marked £39.95 for 100 ursofaulk 250mg caps, i assumed that the pharmacy had been doing a stocktake and if so that would have been the wholesale cost and not the retail cost, if this was the case then the retail cost would be approx £95 to £100 a month, just looking at it from a business point of view and I am including Vat.
Hello dollydaydreams.
No that is about right what you state about the urso cost. There is a website which is NHS and it shows how much the tablets, capsules, etc of the urso cost. I think you take a brand like me so we cost a bit more but in my case I found the generics of the 150mg tablets were not doing me any good.
I've holidayed in Wales and interestingly had I taken my prescription I had to sort out before I went I would still have had to pay the usual NHS fee being in England.
Hello iagra.
I once looked into the NHS prices (being in the UK) of the urso as a couple GPs moaned about the cost several years ago (I was diagnosed with PBC December 2010).
Here in the UK there was an ongoing group Prescription Coalition which I did follow as this group wanted certain medications on the NHS to be added to the list which automatically renders the patient free of prescription charges if they have to contribute (I always have, benefit claimants here don't). Diabetics and epileptics for eg don't pay a charge.
With the urso it is a sketchy subject due to urso not being rendered something we cannot live without. There is no way of knowing if urso can hold PBC at bay though it does help majority of us continue living a pretty normal life. If we don't take the urso every day it's not at the time going to make a significant impact unlike for a diabetic for eg if they do not administer insulin.
Here in the UK generics of the urso are cheaper to the NHS than brands. I have to have a brand of mine (I take 150mgs x 4 tablets daily. The original 300mgs x 2 tablets I took were withdrawn), I found the generics when mine we changed caused me no amount of constant heartburn. I think my 90 day supply costs just under £100 so I am costing the NHS around £380 per year in urso and I pay the over £8 prescription charge each time I collect it.
I have had no other medications from a GP on prescription since 1999 and I think on the whole I am not that expensive to the NHS. I think if I stopped the urso and didn't take it things might pan out a bit differently and cost the NHS more.
I don't understand why it is not considered to be preventative, as it does slow down the deterioration, advancement and possibility of serious treatment (eg liver transplant) for PBC. Surely it would cost the insurance companies far, far more in the long run, if all PBC sufferers chose not to pay for the Urso, and therefore progressed to illness and the need of transplant earlier. Can't they be lobbied on those grounds?
Again: thankgood ness for the NHS - lets do all we can to support it!! Email your MP and tell them!!
I always paid for my prescriptions in Wales till i reached 60, the day i reach 60 they brought in the new ruling that everyone now got free scripts in Wales, sods law that one wasn't it
I am in the US also. My Urso is covered by our insurance... We pay $20 for a 3 mos. supply of generic version. Perhaps there is an appeals process with your insurance company through which you could apply for coverage.
Hi! What state you are in? What is your medical insurance company name? I'd appreciate if you can share this information.
Thank you!
We live in TN; our coverage is through my husband's employer. The pharmacy plan is Caremark. The health insurance is through United Health Care.
Mine is Caremark too.which is cvs pharmacy. I pay $20 for 90 supply sorry I said $40 before
I am in michigan my insurance covers it fully because I can't live with out it. Maybe your liver doctor can advocate for you?
Thank you for your input! I have a letter from my gastro. But that didn't help. My insurance follows governmental guidelines on Urso and the government special health committee doesn't recognize Urso as "preventive" medication. Did you submit a letter from your doctor to your insurance? Any special wording you can recommend? I could go back to my gastro and ask for a new letter. In her original letter to the insurance, my doctor wrote that Urso is FDA approved and believed by the medical community to be "preventive" medication that slows down the progression of the disease. But, insurance disregarded it. They say they only follow the gov guidelines. So, didn't work for me. Every time I get 90 day supply, I pay $500.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Best regards!
Hi! What is your medical insurance company name? I'd appreciate if you can share this information.
Thank you!
I have priority health medicare in Michigan, my doctor said it is approved because you can go into liver failure and death without it so not sure why it would not ever be covered ?
I'd like to thank everyone who replied. A wealth of information! I am glad that for most of you, it is a little or no expense at all. I'll chat more with Michiganpbc, to get some tips, since she is in the US, but, is able to have it covered by her insurance. I need to try to reduce my costs, or, else, I would have to move to New Zealand, Ireland or England.
Very best to all of you!
Or you could move to the "sun burnt country" i.e. Australia 
It's definitely been 'sun burnt' the last couple of months
I pay $6.80 for a month's supply - I'm on the 'Age Pension' though, which does make a difference in pricing. The actual cost of Urso is $306.96 (DPMQ) per month, but as it is listed in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, those who are not on a pension only pay $38.80 per script (be that 100 or 200 capsules).
Great for you in Australia! Looks like US is the only country, where Urso is not covered by all health insurance companies. If President Trump will make possible for us to shop for prescription drugs across state lines, then I maybe be able to get it for less.
You need to fax a prescription to them. I found this after much research. You need to buy from a certified pharmacy. It may take 4-6 weeks and they are very reliable. Their customer service is great and I have been using them for almost 2 years.
Hi! Are you in the US? What pharmacy do you use? In what state? Thanks!
I live in California and I use pharmacy.com in Canada
In South Africa they prescribed for me Ursotan aND it is also expensive.It cost me R2000.00 per month.My medical I having a savings account on it a day here by April there is no money for Urostan for the rest of the year.
Because my medical doen not take it like chronic medicine.
Use the app GoodRX. I've gotten Urso at Walgreens for about $36
Thanks very much for this info! I see that $36 is for 30 day supply of 250 mg tabs. For my dosage 1000 mg /day, for 90 day supply it is $437. This is $50 better than how much pay through my insurance. Not a huge saving, but a saving. From Express Scripts I get the same brand, called Actavis, every time, it is written on the prescription. When you get your urso tabs from Walmart, do you get the same brand every time? I like to stick with the same manufacturer, if possible.
Thanks again! Be well!
I pay 243.00 for 1200 mg/day for 120 day supply. It's way too expensive for me. Right now I'm in the Coverage Gap of my insurance so I'm paying 312.00. I did use a Good RX coupon which brought it down to 247.00. I'm going to make an appt. with Elder Services to find out which insurance offers the cheapest price for Ursodiol. I'm not yet qualified for Mass. Health which is a Medicaid based program and has the cheapest price for all medications.
Thanks for this information. Wish you luck!
Yes, I have gotten it from the same manufacturer. However, with another medication, Walgreens has traded mnfctrs. They do alert me that they have done so. Wish they offered a better price, but a $50 savings can add up.
Hi Iagra,
mine is covered I only pay $40 for 3 month supply..I live in Frankfort ky
Glad for you! You must a have a better Rx plan than mine. I tried to appeal it, but to no avail.
Change your insurance company. Mine is anthem!
Thanks! Very cool! I'll check them out.
You have to change your insurance.I live in Kentucky I have anthem ppo which covers almost 90%
I ge mine in the states at cvs. Have done so for 22 yeArs. Forty dollar copay. It's not preventative if liver enzymes are raised
Thank you, all! I'll be looking into other plans. There is hope!
I live in the US and my insurance covers it. I pay $50 for a month supply.
I live in southern Indiana & my Urso is covered, the Ocaliva also. I don't understand how they can say that it isn't preventive, that's ridiculous.
My doctor provided a letter stating it is preventive. But, insurance goes by some government definition, where Urso is not preventive. Medical Ins is a private company, they can do whatever they want. I need to a better prescription drug coverage in WA state.
Thanks very much for you input!
I live in the US and I take Urso Forte 1000 mg/day. I pay almost $150. 00 a month. Thats the cheapest I have found. Insurance doesn't cover well here unfortunately.
Thanks for your input! Your price is little better than mine. I think I pay close to $500/90 days supply. Insurance doesn't cover it, but, it allows to go towards deductible, so, in the end it doesn't matter. The deductible is met quicker with Urso. I would have to switch to another med insurance after March 15, so, don't know what's going to happen then. It could be even worse.
Thanks so much!
I just jumped in here, as was just dx last week. I am shocked at the price for Ursodiol 500mg twice a day, will be $100 a month. But...and the reason I'm replying to you lagra, I'm in Washington State, Medicare Advantage through Humana. Even if you aren't on Medicare yet, you might want to check their programs....we found it all to be great until I hit this drug. But..Humana said the dr could ask for a "code exemption" and they 'think' the price will come way down. Waiting to hear. Hope you are OK.
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