POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Pre-HAART Long-Term Survivors => Topic started by: aztecan on January 27, 2012, 08:00:52 pm
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Well, not really.
I picked up my meds today and found that my coupon that helps with my copay for Isentress is used up.
You get 12 refills, then that is it - for life. I guess I could hope that they might decide to re-issue another coupon, but I won't hold my breath.
My copays went from about $73 a month to $276 a month.
I guess nothing lasts forever.
HUGS,
Mark
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Well, not really.
I picked up my meds today and found that my coupon that helps with my copay for Isentress is used up.
You get 12 refills, then that is it - for life, or so the pharmacist told me the pharma site told him.
It was nice while it lasted. My copays went from about $73 a month to $276 a month.
I guess nothing lasts forever.
HUGS,
Mark
:( anything else you can do Mark
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:( anything else you can do Mark
No, not really. I thought of switching meds, but you might remember the problems I had with that when I was looking at switching because of side effects.
So, I will just grin and bare it, so to speak. ;)
HUGS,
Mark
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No, not really. I thought of switching meds, but you might remember the problems I had with that when I was looking at switching because of side effects.
So, I will just grin and bare it, so to speak. ;)
HUGS,
Mark
Well a got about 2 to 3 bottles of extra Isentress I keep in a stock pile ( incase of whatever) :-X
EDITED: to Add $276 a month Dayumm Mark that's a brand New Truck Payment for me each month, that's why I don't want to buy a new one just yet :o
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sorry to hear that :( ...i wait not only for a vaccine and cure BUT ALSO for the meds now to be cheaper and made available for everyone who needs them... hugs
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sorry to hear that :( ...i wait not only for a vaccine and cure BUT ALSO for the meds now to be cheaper and made available for everyone who needs them... hugs
I hear you. I am lucky enough to be able to get meds, even if I pay more than I would like. When i think of all those on waiting lists here in the U.S. or who, in other lands, cannot get the meds they need, I realize just how lucky I am.
By the way, welcome to the forums. Glad you have joined in
When you get a moment, tell us a bit more about yourself. We're a pretty good group here.
HUGS,
Mark
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Mark, WTF? That's insane. Is that the patient assistance program? Those drug company pricks can be a real pain. One of our clients went back to Uganda because the drug company was going to kick her off and she could get no other assistance.
Those co-pays are horrendous. I wish there was something else that could be done. >:(
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That's shitty news Mark. Damn , I hope there may be some other alternative for you, to help with the co-pays.
Ray
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I am sorry Mark also angry, wtf is the thinking , well I know the the thinking is ,get them started , And how many ways, routes methods off drug payment are there.
Anyway have wanted to say for a long time fantastic head wear worn beautifully.
lots off love and hugs
theyer
ed to add
looklook my 900 post
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Mark, WTF? That's insane. Is that the patient assistance program? Those drug company pricks can be a real pain. One of our clients went back to Uganda because the drug company was going to kick her off and she could get no other assistance.
Those co-pays are horrendous. I wish there was something else that could be done. >:(
Yeah Betty, that is how the Isentress coupon works. I am not sure that all are that way, but I wouldn't be surprised. Prior to this, they had a coupon you could renew each year. They paid all but $30 of the copay. Then they changed to a coupon that pays 100 percent of the copay, but you get 12 refills and then that's it for life.
I tried to plan ahead for this by putting money back to cover it, but there always seems to be something that comes up that costs money it doesn't leave me any wiggle room, so to speak.
Sorry to hear about the woman who went back to Uganda. That happens more often than people realize.
HUGS,
Mark
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Anyway have wanted to say for a long time fantastic head wear worn beautifully.
lots off love and hugs
theyer
ed to add
looklook my 900 post
Congrats on the 900th post and thank you for the compliment on the hat. The photo was taken during AMG last year in Seattle. Actually, it was an outing to Mt. Ranier. The hat went missing shortly thereafter when I carelessly left it on a table in the hotel lobby.
So, this year, I will have to get another.
HUGS.
Mark
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Y
I tried to plan ahead for this by putting money back to cover it, but there always seems to be something that comes up that costs money it doesn't leave me any wiggle room, so to speak.
HUGS,
Mark
SHIT mark can you get your doctor to change Isentress to something else? I mean I'm on that too, but I cannot understand for the life of me why I'm still on the horrid Travada w/ the kidney issues I already have.......
this make me MAD >:( there has to be a solution to this problem, ask your doctor if you think it will help ???
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Yeah Betty, that is how the Isentress coupon works. I am not sure that all are that way, but I wouldn't be surprised.
HUGS,
Mark
The Epzicom assistance card was good for 2 years, and paid up to 100.00 per month in co-pays. That helped me quite a bit. My co-pay, for the Epzicom ( at that time ) was $50.00, so it wiped that co-pay out completely.
Ray
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Mark, WTF? That's insane. Is that the patient assistance program? Those drug company pricks can be a real pain. One of our clients went back to Uganda because the drug company was going to kick her off and she could get no other assistance.
Those co-pays are horrendous. I wish there was something else that could be done. >:(
Aside from that fact that drug prices are high, shouldn't we look at it that they're being generous even having these assistance programs? They never used to. The issue here IMO is that Mark's insurance coverage has such high co-pays. If insurance programs didn't rape their customers and had realistic co-pays like they did a mere decade ago (when I was last on private insurance I never paid more than $15 for a non-generic).
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It is a real crime how expensive our meds are in this country. I currently am getting my co-pay picked up by the manufacturer of Atripla and hope hat I don't end up in the same situation as you.
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Aside from that fact that drug prices are high, shouldn't we look at it that they're being generous even having these assistance programs? They never used to. The issue here IMO is that Mark's insurance coverage has such high co-pays. If insurance programs didn't rape their customers and had realistic co-pays like they did a mere decade ago (when I was last on private insurance I never paid more than $15 for a non-generic).
Yep, that's the rub. I enrolled in the pre-existing condition insurance offered by the government. My premium would have been $425 a month which I could have managed. On the other hand the copay for the three drugs I take would have been $600 a month. Can't swing that, so I had to cancel.
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I was looking for a medigap policy to cover what medicare doesn't pick up . I learned that Alabama is one of the states that doesn't require insurance company's to cover people under a certain age , I think its 65 ... so I'm just hoping that nothing major happens to me before then because if it did I would be in big trouble financially . I'm hoping that insurance company's have to extend coverage after 2014 when health reform laws take affect .
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Aside from that fact that drug prices are high, shouldn't we look at it that they're being generous even having these assistance programs? They never used to. The issue here IMO is that Mark's insurance coverage has such high co-pays. If insurance programs didn't rape their customers and had realistic co-pays like they did a mere decade ago (when I was last on private insurance I never paid more than $15 for a non-generic).
Yes, aside from the meds just costing a lot, it is the manner in which the insurance companies have passed along some of the costs to those with the coverage. In the past, there were set copays for generics and for non-generics.
Today though, most prescription coverage is a tier system, with tier 1 being the generics, tier 2 the meds with no generic equivalents, tier 3 the non-generics that are somewhat more costly, and tier 4, (and I forget the term they use) contains the most costly meds.
In tier 4, there is no set copay, it is a percentage of the total cost of the medication. I am lucky in one respect. Isentress is less costly than Atripla.
I know some people whose copays for Atripla exceed $500 a month.
It can be insane.
HUGS,
Mark
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I'll also add that the same insurance company probably offers a variety of plans, some with less tiered co-pays but which would mean a higher premium to your employer (which then also sometimes depending on employer is passed on in some amount to the employee). So really it's a combination of the insurer and the employer.
It's always hard for the consumer (patient) to rightly say who is squeezing who. It's not a very transparent arraignment. Back when I was working I was the one who met with insurance brokers for our office to negotiate our policy, so I saw what it was like every year.
I guess what's really sad is that you work for an ASO that doesn't have the budget means to offer their employees who have HIV a policy with lower co-pays. That's what really struck me when I first read the thread.
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Mark, I sent you a PM that might help you out.
Hang in there bud.
Jeff
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I'll also add that the same insurance company probably offers a variety of plans, some with less tiered co-pays but which would mean a higher premium to your employer (which then also sometimes depending on employer is passed on in some amount to the employee). So really it's a combination of the insurer and the employer.
It's always hard for the consumer (patient) to rightly say who is squeezing who. It's not a very transparent arraignment. Back when I was working I was the one who met with insurance brokers for our office to negotiate our policy, so I saw what it was like every year.
I guess what's really sad is that you work for an ASO that doesn't have the budget means to offer their employees who have HIV a policy with lower co-pays. That's what really struck me when I first read the thread.
Very true. For the agency, it is a balancing act, trying to provide adequate coverage while not breaking the bank. We did have another option, but that would have cost me an extra $200 a month and didn't offer better prescription coverage.
The extra money basically created an HMO type of coverage, meaning the $1,000 deductible we have disappeared. But it would cost an extra $2,400 a year. The agency also took out an extra type of policy that reimburses us for our deductible, so choosing the more expensive option was not really a logical choice.
But, I digress.
This tiered option started appearing three or four years ago, although it may have started sooner. I see it all the time.
We have a program to help those who are clients cover these costs, which has been a lifesaver for many people.
I am not eligible for it, but it is a great program.
HUGS,
Mark
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We have a program to help those who are clients cover these costs, which has been a lifesaver for many people.
I am not eligible for it, but it is a great program.
HUGS,
Mark
I probably be DEAD if it weren't for THIS:
https://members.hcsc.net/members/mbrsignon_nm.html
and THIS:
http://www.nmmip.com/2009/medcon.htm
Of Course, I had to sign over all of my Medicare Parts A, B and D to help pay for this, as I wasn't dual ineligible for QMB ( the State part that pays for your Medicare premiums each month :-[
SO now for the last 3 yrs. I'm losing $1,400 dollars a yr. or $99.99 a month form my SSDI ::)
and I'd like to Thank Mark for getting me the info about this program, Mark you are a scholar & and true gentleman Mr. Mark Lewis :-* I'd be dead or very sick if it wasn't for you......however the amount of co-pays you have to endure just makes me wanna spit >:(
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SO now for the last 3 yrs. I'm losing $1,400 dollars a yr. or $99.99 a month form my SSDI ::)
I pay around the same amount of money, or $93/mo, for some weird loop-hole policy our state has where they essentially put me on Medicaid as my secondary insurance but they call the program something else. But I also have $96.50 taken out of my SSI for Medicare (A & B).
Mark, though, must be paying co-pays for other meds on top of this latest one and I assume he must shell out for something for doctors visits, etc.
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I pay around the same amount of money, or $93/mo, for some weird loop-hole policy our state has where they essentially put me on Medicaid as my secondary insurance but they call the program something else. But I also have $96.50 taken out of my SSI for Medicare.
Mark, though, must be paying co-pays for other meds on top of this latest one and I assume he must shell out for something for doctors visits, etc.
I still have Co-pays for doctors visits, and co-pays for all non AVRs, but they aren't over 20 or 30 dollars, and they aren't anywhere near what poor Markus has to pay :-[
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Sorry to here that Mark.
Is the Northeast the only area that still has decent ADAP, HDAP here in MASS? I don't pay any copays for things I get from my mail order pharmacy here in Boston. I have prescription insurance from Medco with my disability pension. If I have to get something quickly, a pain pill or antibiotic, I pay about $10 here at the local pharmacy. Hugs, Deiby