Why so high?

debbie1162
debbie1162 Member Posts: 36
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Why is the treatment so high? I am on Femara now and my copay went up to $60 a month from $35. There should be generics to help us. Cancer is expensive!!! We go thru so much and then to have to make tough decisions.

Comments

  • MyTurnNow
    MyTurnNow Member Posts: 2,686 Member
    #2
    Debbie, I agree with you. I
    Debbie, I agree with you. I don't know how I would have gotten through all treatments, etc. without my insurance coverage. I feel so bad for the ladies that come on here and have no insurance and are trying to find grants, assistance, etc. to help them. Cancer is stressful enough without adding financial worries to the mix. I have just recently been put on Arimidex and understand that it is pretty costly. My onco said that was because there is not a generic for it; however, the generic is due to come out very soon. Then, the cost will also come down tremendously. There definately need to be some modifications to health care. I'm not sure what the answer is but help is needed!!
  • dyaneb123
    dyaneb123 Member Posts: 950
    #3
    MyTurnNow said:

    Debbie, I agree with you. I
    Debbie, I agree with you. I don't know how I would have gotten through all treatments, etc. without my insurance coverage. I feel so bad for the ladies that come on here and have no insurance and are trying to find grants, assistance, etc. to help them. Cancer is stressful enough without adding financial worries to the mix. I have just recently been put on Arimidex and understand that it is pretty costly. My onco said that was because there is not a generic for it; however, the generic is due to come out very soon. Then, the cost will also come down tremendously. There definately need to be some modifications to health care. I'm not sure what the answer is but help is needed!!

    Yeah, during rads I had a
    Yeah, during rads I had a cream that was $75. with copay...the pharmacist told me it was $350. without insurance! one stinking tube of burn cream! Can you imagine not having insurance!
  • lanie940
    lanie940 Member Posts: 490 Member
    #4
    MyTurnNow said:

    Debbie, I agree with you. I
    Debbie, I agree with you. I don't know how I would have gotten through all treatments, etc. without my insurance coverage. I feel so bad for the ladies that come on here and have no insurance and are trying to find grants, assistance, etc. to help them. Cancer is stressful enough without adding financial worries to the mix. I have just recently been put on Arimidex and understand that it is pretty costly. My onco said that was because there is not a generic for it; however, the generic is due to come out very soon. Then, the cost will also come down tremendously. There definately need to be some modifications to health care. I'm not sure what the answer is but help is needed!!

    I hope a Generic is out
    I hope a Generic is out soon. My Arimidex isn't too bad, it's 80.00 for 90 days. BUT, I take other meds also. I have to use Restasis for dry eyes, that is 135.00 for 90 days. I also use Calcatriol( vitamin D3) I just paid 215.00 for 3 drugs for 90 day supply. I'm still on my sample Arimidex. We use Express Scripts it's through the ins my husband has.
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #5
    Co PAY
    Your copay has to do with your insurance....... a generic can only come about when the patent has expired for the certain drug, which is usually 7 years....And keep in mind a generic may not be EXACTLY like the drug you were originally prescribed..I,personally, with some drugs do not want the generic.......all a personal choice. Yes, cancer treatment is VERY expensive! But thank GOD it's available to us! I was shocked at the cost of the Neulasta injection....$6,000.00 per injection......I had 4! I am extremely fortunate, due to my health insurance, we have had very little out of pocket for my entire treatment, chemo and 7 weeks of radiation, plus all the scans, MRI, bloodwork, etc. My heart breaks for those less fortunate......but there is help out there..anyone having financial difficulties should speak to the social worker where they are receiving treatment along with the ACS.......My co pay for a month of prescription ALLERGY medication is $60.00!

    Best wishes to you..
  • Skeezie
    Skeezie Member Posts: 586 Member
    #6
    MAJW said:

    Co PAY
    Your copay has to do with your insurance....... a generic can only come about when the patent has expired for the certain drug, which is usually 7 years....And keep in mind a generic may not be EXACTLY like the drug you were originally prescribed..I,personally, with some drugs do not want the generic.......all a personal choice. Yes, cancer treatment is VERY expensive! But thank GOD it's available to us! I was shocked at the cost of the Neulasta injection....$6,000.00 per injection......I had 4! I am extremely fortunate, due to my health insurance, we have had very little out of pocket for my entire treatment, chemo and 7 weeks of radiation, plus all the scans, MRI, bloodwork, etc. My heart breaks for those less fortunate......but there is help out there..anyone having financial difficulties should speak to the social worker where they are receiving treatment along with the ACS.......My co pay for a month of prescription ALLERGY medication is $60.00!

    Best wishes to you..

    My Co-Pay was only $20 for Neulasta
    and my shot was $3,213.38! I wonder what the difference in price was. My drug company was Express Scripts. My neighbor, an RN, gave me my shot so I didn't have to go back to the onc the next day. They gave me some special nausea pills that cost $1,600, my copay for that was $40.

    When my husband was dx with prostate cancer he got one Lupron shot prior to treatment and that cost $4,200.

    But we are so lucky to be dx at this time, we had a friend who had bc in the sixties and her treatment, the only one available at that time, was surgery and Kobalt treatments (kind of the forerunner of rads but not really much good).

    Judy :-)
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #7
    Skeezie said:

    My Co-Pay was only $20 for Neulasta
    and my shot was $3,213.38! I wonder what the difference in price was. My drug company was Express Scripts. My neighbor, an RN, gave me my shot so I didn't have to go back to the onc the next day. They gave me some special nausea pills that cost $1,600, my copay for that was $40.

    When my husband was dx with prostate cancer he got one Lupron shot prior to treatment and that cost $4,200.

    But we are so lucky to be dx at this time, we had a friend who had bc in the sixties and her treatment, the only one available at that time, was surgery and Kobalt treatments (kind of the forerunner of rads but not really much good).

    Judy :-)

    Price differences
    Amazing isn't it.......the difference in the price of the Nuelasta? I guess my other $3,000 was for the nurse at the cancer center to inject me..haha. What were the anti nausea meds that cost $1600.00? Good heavens! None of mine were over $10.00! Again, big difference.....
  • Skeezie
    Skeezie Member Posts: 586 Member
    #8
    MAJW said:

    Price differences
    Amazing isn't it.......the difference in the price of the Nuelasta? I guess my other $3,000 was for the nurse at the cancer center to inject me..haha. What were the anti nausea meds that cost $1600.00? Good heavens! None of mine were over $10.00! Again, big difference.....

    Price Differences
    The anti-nausea med is ANZEMET 100 MG tablet. I already had Compazine and Ativan and only used one Compozine. I didn't have big time nausea at all. But midway thru my chemo, when I would try to eat, I would get this strange, awful feeling in back of my throat. It was subtle and it took me a couple of weeks to figure it out, it was nausea. I told the onc and she gave me an Rx for this and said this was something different for chemo. I about fell over when I saw the paper from the drug store! But it worked. However food tasted so disgusting anyway I could only eat dill pickles and fruit. I lost 30 lbs. during chemo, which I was thrilled about.

    Judy :-)
  • wendybia
    wendybia Member Posts: 73
    #9
    ask your oncologist
    i just met with my onc on friday..she gave me a card looks like an insurance card for the pharmacy that gives you the presciption for just 10.00 a month..femara will pay the difference for 12 months up to a max of 800.00..whether they're paying the difference in your co pay or even if you don't have insurance 800.00 for up to 12 months is pretty good...maybe your onc can get it from their drug rep...on the back of the packet it has a phone number of 1-866-443-3627 and www.femara.com..hope you can get it too...wendy
  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    #10
    wendybia said:

    ask your oncologist
    i just met with my onc on friday..she gave me a card looks like an insurance card for the pharmacy that gives you the presciption for just 10.00 a month..femara will pay the difference for 12 months up to a max of 800.00..whether they're paying the difference in your co pay or even if you don't have insurance 800.00 for up to 12 months is pretty good...maybe your onc can get it from their drug rep...on the back of the packet it has a phone number of 1-866-443-3627 and www.femara.com..hope you can get it too...wendy

    I have insurance
    Fortunately I have insurance that pays all but $45 for my monthly Femara prescription. Without it, the cost would be nearly $450. This is the only prescription I have, so I feel very blessed. I've heard that there will be a generic Letrizol (Femara) available some time in 2011, and with that my copay will be $10 a month. I don't know if my oncologist will switch me to the generic, or keep me on the brand name. If there's no significant difference between the two, I suppose the generic will be all right. I'm leaving it up to the doctor.

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