How much $$$ does UC cost you a year?

I am lucky enough to have great health insurance through work but had always envisioned myself retiring early and living a simple and low cost lifestyle someday. My UC diagnosis has changed my plans a bit and I was wondering how much IBD costs people who purchase their own insurance, or who have minimal insurance or are on Medicare. For me, with great insurance, I'd say this year it has roughly cost me about $250 in extra doctors visits, another $350 for medication co-pays, maybe $1200-$1500 for supplements and dietary costs (these are flexible), and if I count in loss of work opportunities I'd have to figure another $1500 or so. These are very rough numbers but I'm looking at about $3600 for my first year with one relatively minor flare. Yikes. And I'm very well insured and was only down and out a couple weeks.

I can't imagine how expensive it is with lengthy hospital stays, ostomy supplies, incontinence supplies and lousy insurance.

By the way these are all in U.S. dollars.

I spend about $100–$125 a year for medication. I haven't seen my GI in about a year. And supplements have never helped me.

Let's see, my remicade is $21,600 (insurance allowable amount) a year before insurance ($3,600 each x 6 doses a year). I pay just $246 a year for that, after insurance and remistart patient assistance kicks in. My 6mp is a $20 copay for a 3 months suppy (or $80 total for a year). Insurance for my wife and I is $112 per two week payperiod (or $2,912 a year). Blood tests are free through my insurances preferred lab.

$2,912 for health insurance
$ 246 for remi
$ 80 for 6mp
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$3,238 as a guess. Drs visits are like $30 copays. It's highly variable.

Without the insurance it'd be insane. Not sure what the 6mp costs, off the top of my head (it's generic and been a while since I ordered it).

i dont keep track and i dont wanna know. i used to have pretty good insurance until i turned 26. had to sign up for medicaid and it's been hell ever since. everything costs a fortune and i've been late on simponi twice now because they dont wanna cover it.

my supplements and chiropractic care also burn a hole in my pocket.

I'd say the majority of you get off pretty easily!
I have been on my husband's insurance which has minimal premium but is a high deductible plan .... Family deductible $3000 w max out of pocket $5000 which Rx bring me to annually. But in 2016 I will be self insuring. Premiums are $700/mo and Rx is excluded from insurance formularies on individual policy. Rx's full cost is about $8400 + $8400 for premiums totals almost 17k/yr before doc appts & periodic colonoscopies. Still deciding whether or not to risk a flare by trying other Rxs on formulary!!
No wonder Actavis (the brand maker of AsacolHD) stock price just continues to increase with their copycat patenting and refusal to offer financial assistance ... no moral thread in their gold lined pockets ... capitalism at its finest!

LondonRed said...
What supplements Sibby?

Psyllium seed, seed or husk, made things worse. I tried some probiotics. And a few others that I can't remember. It's been a long time since I've been on them.

@imagardener2 ... this is a silver choice plan ... age is not in my favor

All individual insurance coverage in my state exclude my Rx ... nice huh? after 23 yrs of essentially remission the insurance companies decide to exclude this drug for an individual (insurance companies corresponding group plans include the drug) ... kind of defeats the purpose of having insurance in the first place

OP, I'm also into frugality and early retirement (a subscriber to the MMM financial philosophy, if you're familiar with that site) and struggle to calculate how to plan for my future healthcare needs. My colon was removed years ago but the UC-related expenses haven't ended for me: I still see a GI at $40 per appointment (once or twice a year, potentially more often if I have pouchitis or cuffitis) and require yearly scoping that can cost hundreds of dollars or even meet my $1,000 deductible.

Throwing additional kinks into things, I developed skin and joint manifestations of the disease that require hundreds of dollars in yearly prescription fees and co-pays for dermatologists and rheumatologists. On top of that, I've been diagnosed with two more autoimmune diseases that require their own prescriptions and specialists, but those are currently well-managed and relatively inexpensive (one costs $100 per year, the other around $300).

In recent years my annual healthcare spending has ranged from $1,500 to $3,000, but I'm thinking of budgeting up to $10k per year for health expenses in retirement (I'd like to retire in 13 years, at the age of 45) just to be on the safe side, mostly on account of the unpredictable nature of autoimmune diseases and the presumption that insurance costs will continue to grow at nauseating rates.

Post Edited (missingcolon) : 12/3/2015 8:48:29 PM (GMT-7)

@missing colon,

Yes MMM is where I got the idea. We are similar age and in a similar boat, my plan was another 14 years at the age of 49...but doing that would forgo a lifetime insurance benefit through work...hence my dilemma. I am a big planner and like to have my whole life mapped out but this disease changes that, although after reading all these replies, it doesn't have to be crazy expensive to have UC and it may not effect my plans all too much. I like your $10K number, I may budget a bit more though just to be safe.

Everything is funded here in NZ. I just pay a nominal prescription fee each time.

$100? Absolute max