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Posted 2/14/2009 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
I can't believe I found this discussion.  Just today I was comparing prices of the Remicade infusions. When I get my treatment in Wyoming I pay just over $5000.00 for medicine and hospital charges.  The last charge for 440 mg of Remicade was $4500.00.  The balance was  the facility and nursing charges. 

Now, I'm in AZ for the winter and a hospital here (Banner Baywood) charges me $18,000.00 for the same amount of medicine!  Unbelievable!

I checked prices at Scottsdale Mayo Clinic here and their price is about $5000.00 for just the Remicade.  Hospital charges etc. are then added onto that.

Remicade is given according to body weight.  To compare prices you have to find out how many milligrams of the drug are given to you and then check prices based on that amount of drug.  I found the pharmacys at the hospitals could tell me the cost (based on mgs) of the Remicade.  Then I asked for the charge to administer the drug.  I also asked for a detailed bill with all charges broken down to be mailed to me.

I thought $13,000.00 dollars difference between the two hospitals was indecent.  I plan to research further and try to find out how Banner Baywood can get away with that kind of charge.

I do have insurance but it is still a very expensive treatment

It really seems obscene that a hospital could get away with such over the top prices.

It pays to check around, talk to your doctor and your insurance.  

And do check into Remistart.  There is an organization called Access One that will tell you how to sign up for Remistart.  You get money back to put toward your payment.  You must have insurance to apply for the program. 

Good luck with your search

 

Posted 2/16/2009 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
I have had two and each one was about $5200.00 (I'm in Canada), I was told they are based on my weight.
Posted 8/7/2009 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
I really feel for you guys in the US.

I in no way mean it as an insult, but the health care system and drug companies in the US amaze me with what they charge people. It really makes me sad to hear of people struggling to pay for drugs that are obviously so badly needed by patients.

We are very lucky here in Aus in retrospect as Remicade is approved on our PBS (pharmaceuticals benefit scheme) and only costs Au$300 a year on Medicare. Most drugs deamed as "necessary" by the gov end up on this list luckily.

I understand that sometimes Americans consider healthcare systems such as ours "evil" and "socialist" but after hearing all your stories i really think there needs to be a change. It simply cannot cost $10,000 to deliver it to you, what is a moral profit to make when your talking about people's quality of life?

I am about to start on Remicade for my crohns disease and think i would be bankcrupt if i had to pay $10,000 per infusion.

I wish all of you luck with your illnesses.
Posted 8/7/2009 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
$5000.00 every six weeks.
Posted 8/7/2009 2:09 AM (GMT 0)

DougAu said...
I really feel for you guys in the US.

I in no way mean it as an insult, but the health care system and drug companies in the US amaze me with what they charge people. It really makes me sad to hear of people struggling to pay for drugs that are obviously so badly needed by patients.

We are very lucky here in Aus in retrospect as Remicade is approved on our PBS (pharmaceuticals benefit scheme) and only costs Au$300 a year on Medicare. Most drugs deamed as "necessary" by the gov end up on this list luckily.

I understand that sometimes Americans consider healthcare systems such as ours "evil" and "socialist" but after hearing all your stories i really think there needs to be a change. It simply cannot cost $10,000 to deliver it to you, what is a moral profit to make when your talking about people's quality of life?

I am about to start on Remicade for my crohns disease and think i would be bankcrupt if i had to pay $10,000 per infusion.

I wish all of you luck with your illnesses.

I in no way mean it as an insult, but I hope you appreciate the benefits of a drug that would never have been researched and developed in anything other than a free market system. If everyone in the world only had to pay $300 for it, there would be no motivation for Centocor to spend many years developing new drugs. They cannot stay in business with "moral profits."
Posted 8/7/2009 2:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Amy,

I fully understand your point and apologise if my reply came off as smug, that was not my intention.

I think you may have misunderstood me though. Our medicare system here supports the same things you are talking about - the PBS scheme is provided by the government for patients so the makers of drugs such as remicade still get their money (not just $300). $300 i my contribution and the government picks up the rest (obviously the government pay wholesale prices, but it wouldn't work if they didn't keep the companies happy).
Posted 8/7/2009 2:33 AM (GMT 0)
I just recieved Remicade for the first time monday, being young and scared that my health benifits from work would not cover it, I asked every question I could. I was told by the pharmacist that it costs roughly 1000$ per 10ml. My first infusion was 2 hours long and a 40ml IV. These are canadian dollars. I was told I need 3 treatments over a period of time. At 4000 dollars a treatment 3 times ...12000 bucks...stupid colitis!
Posted 8/7/2009 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
Doug, I'm curious. If I were in Australia, could I get Remicade for $300 a year?

I've read that in the UK system I wouldn't be able to get Remi at all unless I paid the full price. I have ulcerative colitis rather than Crohn's. I think that's a lot of people's objection to a prescription coverage plan operated by the government: the possibility that access to certain drugs would be denied.
Posted 8/7/2009 3:39 AM (GMT 0)

Judilyn said...
Doug, I'm curious. If I were in Australia, could I get Remicade for $300 a year?

I've read that in the UK system I wouldn't be able to get Remi at all unless I paid the full price. I have ulcerative colitis rather than Crohn's. I think that's a lot of people's objection to a prescription coverage plan operated by the government: the possibility that access to certain drugs would be denied.

Hi Judilyn,

From how i understand the system works (dont quote me as i am in no way stating i know) you have to be at least a temporary resident to get medicare. I have a friend who recently moved from Tennessee and they jumped through the hoops to become temporary residents (dont know what they are maybe do a quick google). The only reason i know this is that they actually commented to me that they were full covered by the time they had their baby (they were pregnant when moving).

Our healthcare system has many facets that live under "medicare" and the PBS system is only a part and is not for all drugs, only ones accepted onto the list as needing assistance (usually expensive ones). The cost of most other drugs (non-expensive ones) is usually not prohibitive enough to require assistance.

There is always groups lobbying the government to accept new drugs and it happens frequently - a recent example is a new vaccine found to stop women developing cervical cancer which was made free for women from i think 16-28.

So in trying to answer your question: "yes, you'd only pay ~$300 if you were on medicare(a resident). but this doesn't cover all drugs, Remi is just on the list"

P.s apologies for this going off the topic of comparing costs

EDIT: From what i understand to put extra light on the situation- I dont think it has been on the list for a long period of time and i might be lucky(if you could ever say it) with my timing in requiring it.

Post Edited (DougAu) : 8/6/2009 9:43:03 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/7/2009 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
Doug, what I intended to ask was is it available for UC? In the UK, I believe it's available for Crohn's but not for UC.

LOL, I'm not really looking into moving to Australia, although it is a beautiful country. I'm just curious about the contrasts among the various systems.
Posted 8/7/2009 9:07 AM (GMT 0)
I am living in Ireland and I will get a medical card to cover the cost of my treatment.
I weight 108 pounds and the dose is done by your body weight at the time of infusion.
My does I received yesterday cost 3,500 euro, and I had it here in hospital.
i will need my second dose in two weeks time.
I will have to come into the hospital to get it.
All the cost are covered here by our medical card.
My heart goes out to you all having to pay these crazy prices, especially when you have medical insurance. I don't think it is fair that they are allow to limit the amount the pay for you. how many clients do the have that are paying the insurance all their lives and never claim.


IG
Posted 8/7/2009 2:50 PM (GMT 0)
well I can't complain- I love my private insurance. While I agree that healthcare in the USA needs an overhaul, with some type of government run plan, I'd hate to give up private insurance. I've been on Remicade over 2 years now (high dose every 6 weeks), under at least 3 different insurers, & have never made one payment for an infusion. And we have fairly crappy, HMO insurance! I think a lot depends on how your private insurer classifies Remicade- for 2 out of 3 insurers I've had, it's part of my medical benefit. Which in an HMO is generally not subjecte to a deductible. For the other 1, it was prescription- but the hospital I get the infusions at bill it as chemo, which is generally covered in full by all insurers, HMO, PPO, etc. So yeah..... USA health care may suck, but I'm cool with it. It's a hassle to make 10 phone calls every time our insurance does change, but it's not that big a deal.

Posted 8/7/2009 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
i feel bad for people who dont have insurance, gosh , i would be dead by now it seems!! i work for an insurance company and even people with the "good" option are paying 500-600 coinsurance per infusion..
my insurance, i pay nothing for infusions, nothing for surgery...i say anyone with UC should get a desk job at the insurance company, i have the HMO
Posted 8/7/2009 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
My infusions at my doctor's "infusion center" are $8000. I will pay about $350 (including pharmacy and technician charges). The pharmacy -- the actual Remicade -- is what costs the most. I live in a college town, not a big city, BTW.

The variation is in what the facility charges. There will be lots of variation, shop around!! I would expect a hospital infusion center to cost more than a doctor's office infusion center. Your doctor may set you up somewhere, but you can choose where you go if you want to. Just make sure your insurance will cover it there.

I love Remicade, and am so grateful for it. Even if it shortened my life by many years (and I don't expect it will), I would still take it. I want a better quality of life, not a better quantity.
Posted 8/7/2009 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
Eva Lou, I'm so jealous that you don't have to pay anything! My infusions costs about $5000 and I have to pay about $1000 in co-pay. shocked Remistart only offers $3200 per year, so that only covers half my infusions. I feel so awful that my parents have to pay so much money for my infusions.

I'm at a hospital infusion center; I'll have to look for a doctor's office infusion center instead.

Posted 8/7/2009 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
yeah, believe me, I know I've lucked out! Like Peety says, it all depends on where you get it done & how it's billed- since the hospital I go to bills it as chemo, it's covered in full. If it was billed as Remicade, it'd be subject to the copays. But even with that, my prescription coverage has been that if it's prior approved by the GI, it only costs the copay, which is like $60 max. I don't know how those of you who have to pay thousands per infusion do it- & what type of insurance do you have? Is it an HMO? Are the infusions so costly because of the drug itself, or the infusion process? See, I would think a hospital infusion center would be cheaper- that way, they get the drug from their inhouse pharmacy, & you don't have to go thru the pharmacy your insurer requires. Because Remicade is always one of those drugs that you have to special order from a handful of pharmacies. So by getting the drug inhouse & billing it as chemo, the insurance company is none the wiser. I always worry though, that someday I'll get hit with these gigantic bills. I'd have no choice then but to go for surgery- we can't afford Remicade in any way.
Posted 8/8/2009 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
When I was on Remi, I went to a hospital-based "cancer center" for my infusions. I happen to work for that hospital and we've luckily got a very good insurance policy.

My Explanation of benefits looks like this:
Hospital Ther / Prophy / Diag IV INF add-on: $205.00
Hospital Misc: $2.80
Infliximab injection: $7123.85
Normal Saline Solution Infuse: $31.00
Total: $7741.65

Amount the insurance company paid to the hospital: $1857.99

Amount I had to pay: Nothing! It sounds like I lucked out with that one!

Jen
Posted 8/8/2009 3:00 AM (GMT 0)
I think for most of us in the US who have private insurance, the Remicade may cost our insurance thousands but we pay a much, much lower amount - for some of us - not myself - it's even free. I know something needs to be done for people who don't have insurance and those with pre-existing conditions but a lot of us really like our insurance and hope the government doesn't completely overhaul the whole thing. And since chronic health conditions are responsible for like 75 cents out of every $1 spent in the health care industry, it makes me a little nervous to think that some bureaucrat who is only looking at the bottom line may decide that a lifetime of Remicade is too expensive when a patient can have the disease "cured" by having their colon removed. Just my 2 cents.
Posted 8/8/2009 10:56 AM (GMT 0)
Scrap Girl, I second your comments!

Jen
Posted 8/8/2009 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
Without getting into a debate, the President has said repeatedly that those who like their insurance will not have to give it up; the whole point of health care reform is to offer an option for those who don't have or like private insurance.

My Remi IV costs approx. $3400, $1635 for "medical services," $111 for supplies, and the rest is for lab tests. It's a little under $6000 total and I'm left to pay a little over $1000. I think I have an HMO as well.
Posted 8/8/2009 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
The last time I was at my doctor's office I saw on the paper that I had $15,000 pending insurance payment, but I'm not sure if that was for 2 or 3 infusions
Posted 8/9/2009 11:18 AM (GMT 0)

bookworm21 said...
Without getting into a debate, the President has said repeatedly that those who like their insurance will not have to give it up; the whole point of health care reform is to offer an option for those who don't have or like private insurance.

My Remi IV costs approx. $3400, $1635 for "medical services," $111 for supplies, and the rest is for lab tests. It's a little under $6000 total and I'm left to pay a little over $1000. I think I have an HMO as well.

Firstly i have to say that i'm so happy i found this forum as reading everyones stories and their struggles has made me not feel alone in my problems.

If the US was to get a healthcare overhaul i'd assume the private system would stay in parallel. Most countries with government assisted healthcare systems have private systems as well. I have private health insurance, however as there is almost always a gap to pay it is usually only really useful in times of "optional" healthcare (ie if you need treatment to improve your quality of life not save it the medicare won't cover it usually).

If i'm admited to hospital with a heart attack i have the option to be admitted as a "private" or "public" patient. The only real thing this changes is my ability to "choose" my doctor, which in the case of a heart attack it doesn't really matter as you dont really have time to research. The funny thing is, if you get admitted as a private patient unless you decide to see a different doctor of your choosing you would see the same doctor as you would as a public patient so there is no different level of cover in this situation, you stay in the same room etc. From experience this sucks as with private you have to pay a "gap" fee, so its usually better in an emergency to be admitted as a public patient even if you have private cover simply to avoid paying this fee. Go figure lol

Remicade would usually be considered "optional" and therefore i'd have to have private to get it/afford it, because i could still buy it at full price. Luckily as i described earlier a long list of drugs are covered by the government and remicade is one, so i am very very very lucky.

All in all though there is one thing i'd do if i had my time over again for pure financial reasons: Invent Remicade lol... because then it wouldnt matter where i was: i'd be rich AND not have to care about its cost... haha

Post Edited (DougAu) : 8/9/2009 5:21:04 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/9/2009 10:58 PM (GMT 0)

pant pooper said...
I get a infusion every eight weeks through Walgreens outpatient clinic, the remicade depends on your weight for me I'm 6'3" 225# they charge $300 for the remicade its self and $3600 to administer it! outrageous!

Check with your insurance co. because they agree to a lesser amount and the clinic or hospital my be charging you the difference. They want to bailout these auto maker and financial companys how about doing something for people with medical conditions that we did not ask for, one bad medical problem could leave you bankrupt.

 

Can't be sure, but you might have it backwards. It's more likely $3600 for the Remicade and $300 for the infusion service.
Posted 8/9/2009 11:08 PM (GMT 0)

Scrap Girl said...
I think for most of us in the US who have private insurance, the Remicade may cost our insurance thousands but we pay a much, much lower amount - for some of us - not myself - it's even free. I know something needs to be done for people who don't have insurance and those with pre-existing conditions but a lot of us really like our insurance and hope the government doesn't completely overhaul the whole thing. And since chronic health conditions are responsible for like 75 cents out of every $1 spent in the health care industry, it makes me a little nervous to think that some bureaucrat who is only looking at the bottom line may decide that a lifetime of Remicade is too expensive when a patient can have the disease "cured" by having their colon removed. Just my 2 cents.

I think it's more likely an insurance company would put you in that position than a bureaucrat.

I'm more scared of the insurance industry than of the government!

That said, this public plan they are debating might have really really lousy benefits to keep it cheap. And your employer might be able to switch to it...that is the worst case scenario if you have private insurance now.

Posted 8/9/2009 11:09 PM (GMT 0)

AmyWaffle said...

DougAu said...
I really feel for you guys in the US.

I in no way mean it as an insult, but the health care system and drug companies in the US amaze me with what they charge people. It really makes me sad to hear of people struggling to pay for drugs that are obviously so badly needed by patients.

We are very lucky here in Aus in retrospect as Remicade is approved on our PBS (pharmaceuticals benefit scheme) and only costs Au$300 a year on Medicare. Most drugs deamed as "necessary" by the gov end up on this list luckily.

I understand that sometimes Americans consider healthcare systems such as ours "evil" and "socialist" but after hearing all your stories i really think there needs to be a change. It simply cannot cost $10,000 to deliver it to you, what is a moral profit to make when your talking about people's quality of life?

I am about to start on Remicade for my crohns disease and think i would be bankcrupt if i had to pay $10,000 per infusion.

I wish all of you luck with your illnesses.

I in no way mean it as an insult, but I hope you appreciate the benefits of a drug that would never have been researched and developed in anything other than a free market system. If everyone in the world only had to pay $300 for it, there would be no motivation for Centocor to spend many years developing new drugs. They cannot stay in business with "moral profits."

Right. We are not just paying big profits (and they get them, granted) but for a ton of research.

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