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The Cost of Med's for Crohn's

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/13/2009 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
My husband was just diagnosed with Crohn's.  We went to fill the prescriptions, Entocorte and something else that starts with a P - anyway - the total for a one month supply was $276. !!!   How does anyone afford being on these drugs - this was our cost with insurance !
Posted 2/13/2009 7:30 PM (GMT 0)

I too take entocort and I recall seeing the price w/o insurance for one month was like 500 some dollars. I also take Pentasa and that runs around 300 for a month w/o insurance.

I think that the doctors generally take into consideration and don't prescribe certain meds depending on cost to patient. Of course, just because somebody has insurance, it doesn't mean the insurance isn't all that great.

At one point I too was paying out of pocket about $250 a month for the Pentasa.

I feel your pain.

Posted 2/13/2009 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi JAB ...   thank you for your post.   The Pentasa for one month cost $118 and the Entocort for one month $156.   Hopefully, his dosage will come down after the first month because if it does not, we will definitely go broke :-(      He is also on Aciphex and some glaucoma meds ...  yikes !    TAKE CARE :-)

 

Posted 2/14/2009 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
When I was really sick about 6 years ago I didn't have drug coverage and I was on Pentasa. My Dr. gave me free samples because I couldn't afford the drugs. You could ask the Dr. about that. I don't know where you are but in Ontario we have a drug program called Trillium which is for people who cannot afford their medications. The program is not perfect, but it does help. I was on this program for a while and I did have to pay some, but it covered the majority of the costs. You could always call your local government representative to find out if your area has any programs like Trillium.

Hope that helps.
Posted 2/14/2009 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
 my daughter went to the manufacturer of her medication and through an assistance plan got her medications for free.
Posted 2/14/2009 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your information - very interesting - I will check into both options.

Posted 2/14/2009 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
Yea my insurance is reimbursement, so I have to front about 1000 for my pentasa, which is a 3 month supply, thank goodness they pay for almost all of it. My brothers are on I think immuran/remicade/methotrexate I forget which one but the price is like upwards of 7000 a month, they cover that too though, amazing!!!
Posted 2/14/2009 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
tottart -

Keep all your medical receipts if you are in the US!! You will hit that medical tax deduction... I did!
Posted 2/14/2009 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
Thru CVS Humira for one year is $84,000.

Susie
Posted 2/14/2009 5:35 PM (GMT 0)

I am on Sulfasalazine which is very inexpensive.  I took entocort for a month but could not afford it.  So far the sulfasalazine is working fine.  My Crohn's is only in my small intestine so I dont know if it will work for everyone.

Clayton

Posted 2/14/2009 5:39 PM (GMT 0)

These days you really have to get aggressive with your insurance company....many times if your insurance company has a mail order pharmacy then you canb really save.

When I had my old insurance company they told me that my Humira ( I take 1 shot each week)would cost $750 per injection w/o insurance.....$375 dollars co-pay per injection if went through my pharmacy and only $50 for a 90 day supply if I went through their mail order.

My new insurance company BC/BS of Florida said the w/o insurance cost was now over $800 per shot....if I used my own pharmacy the copay would be $100 every 4 weeks or through their mail order pharmacy it was only $100 for a 90 day supply.

You have to ask about everything these days...many companies will provide the drug for free or at a very reduced price if your income warrants it.

You also, as has been suggested, need to be very frank with your doctor and let him/her know what you can and can not afford

Posted 2/14/2009 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
Prometheus who distributes Entocort doesn't offer patient assistance. Like other said ask your doctor for samples. You can always order from Canadian pharmacies but they will likely be more than your copay amount. With the Entocort, the dosage will probably drop from 3 pills a day down to two and eventually one or stop.

Pentasa is made by Shire Pharma which most likely has a patient assistance program for free drugs. You need to meet certain income criteria. Just search for "Pentasa Patient Assistance". This is a drug he will most likely stay on for a long time. I don't think generics are available either.
Posted 2/14/2009 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
I would advise against getting drugs from "Canadian pharmacies". Often these pharmacies import black market knockoffs from India or elsewhere and sell them as Canadian drugs.
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