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Thinking about Changing from Remicaide to Humira

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/10/2014 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed in 2007,  I have been in Remission for over 3 years now and am doing really well.....    My deductible and coinsurance keeps going up and I am working on a $2500 bill for the hospital and each year I incur more and more debt to the hospital so I am trying to figure out a way to continue treatment without them discontinuing my treatment.   I am not hearing very good things about Humira though..... Remicade is working great, but its so very expensive........    I don't want to take chances with my health.    I am very torn on what to do.......   The hospital has not made any threats and have been very understanding and allow me to pay them out .... but I just keep getting more and more in debt to them each year especially when my insurance coinsurance goes up each year.  

has anyone had success with Humira?   

Posted 11/10/2014 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
Can you get help from the makers of Remicade? Alternatively, you can ask to plead your case to the hospital administration and they may be willing to write off all or part of your bill. The problem is that if you go off of Remicade and Humira is ineffective, you might not be able to get back on the Remicade due to antibodies. You should discuss this with your GI. If the Remicade is keeping you in remission though, then write and impassioned letter to the hospital, and maybe they will help you out.
Posted 11/11/2014 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
Don't just depend on drugs if you think it's too expensive for you. Always consider that diet and lifestyle changes can also contribute to your medication.
Posted 11/11/2014 6:29 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on Remicade, then Humira, and now back on Remicade. Both of them work pretty well for me, with Humira working a little better than Remicade. The only reason I went off Humira is because I was feeling good and wanted to try managing my symptoms without drugs....which didn't work. So my doctor put me back on Remicade, wished he would have put me on Humira again though.
Posted 11/11/2014 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for taking the time to read my post and give me some insight.
Posted 11/11/2014 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
My husband has now been on remicade for over 6 years, and so far, it has been doing well for him. Our insurance changed to where a remicade infusion went from being $50, to $1200 before insurance would cover anything at all ($1200 deductible) - I think this is where most insurance plans are. You have to pay until you hit deductible, and then insurance kicks in and pays like 80% until you hit max out of pocket expenses (in our case $3200).

My husband signed up for remistart, and we have not had to spend so much money. If you pay more than $50 for the infusion, remistart will cover the rest of the cost of remicade upto $8000 per year. It has really helped us not spend a lot of money on remicade.

My suggestion is to stick with the remicade and sign up for remistart. Why rock the boat if remicade is keeping you in remission?
Posted 11/12/2014 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
I agree with PV. Stay with the remicade as long as possible. I switched to humira this summer and developed some side effects that kept me from working. After 3 months, not only were the side effects a huge problem but I was starting to have break through cramping which I never have with remicade. I know humira is a good drug and helps many people, it just wasn't a good drug for me. Also, if you're not using remistart, you should enroll. They increased the benefit to $10,000 for 2015.
Posted 11/19/2014 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Ditto, enroll in remistart it covers my 6k out of pocket co-insurance amounts.
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