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Remicade Bill

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/17/2010 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
Well, this is a shocker! I knew my Remicade would be expensive but I just got the bill from Medicare. These are the figures from The MGH Crohns & Colitis Center for 1 infusion!Check this out:


Chemo.iv infusion 1 hour = $1,126.00
Chemo.iv infusion addl. hr = $488.00
Infliximab Injection = $16,442.00


DO YOU BELIEVE THIS!!!

Medicaire is only paying - $2977.32 of it. I hope the hell Masshealth is paying for the rest if not I'm screeewwwweeedddd!

Sorry, I'm coming down off of 7 years of Prednisone and I'm a little whacked out! cry
Posted 2/17/2010 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
     YIKES!  Didn't you call the insurance companies prior to starting Remicade?  I did.  I am not on Medicare yet, just Personal Choice Pa Bl Cross and Bl Shield but the girl from the insurance company told me I would just be libel to pay the co-pay.  Since it is done at my doctor's office by a nurse the co-pay is $5.  I did see that the cost is $5,000.  Hope I don't get slapped with a bill at the end of the year.
Posted 2/17/2010 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I thought I read that Masshealth Part D picks up the difference but I was sick at the time and not really paying attention. I'm going to call them tomorrow and find out more. If I get stuck with the difference I'll get taken care of, like you, at the Doc's office etc.
Posted 2/17/2010 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
Whoa!!! shocked
Posted 2/17/2010 10:12 PM (GMT 0)
Scary! None of this stuff is cheap (except pred) but wow, that takes the cake! It is probably $5k in Canada...
Posted 2/17/2010 10:31 PM (GMT 0)
Mine runs about $13000. My insurance pays the contracted amount of 6700 and I pay nothing because it's in the hospital. Actually, the largest portion of that is for the hospital charges, although the Remi itself is plenty expensive.
Posted 2/18/2010 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
That is extremely high. Mine runs around $5000 for everything and I pay 20%. Which is a huge hardship. But I went through Remistart and got a rebate of $400 which helps somewhat....Maybe Remistart can help you?????
Posted 2/18/2010 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
I am with Blue Cross too.  Each infusion costs almost 9,000.00.  I get it done every 5 weeks.  Once I pay my deductible of 3,250.00 the rest of the year is free.  I have just met my deductible with my infusion tomorrow, so I am clear for the rest of 2010.
Posted 2/18/2010 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
The amount of the bill depends on the dosage given, i.e. 5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg, and the cost of infusion services at the hospital (which obviously vary)

Mine were running around $14000 when I was taking in 10 mg/kg
Posted 2/18/2010 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
This should be interesting! I just went up to 10 mg on my last infusion...
Posted 2/18/2010 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Yes. I do believe it. Our health care system needs to be revamped.
Posted 2/18/2010 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
So basically, we should call the insurance company and ask them where would be the cheapest place to have the infusion done (hospital vs dr office)?
My deductible is $5000 blah
Posted 2/18/2010 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
As a young person this is one of the things that scares me the most.  I have been removed from work due to my health and have no isurence.  One of the reasons I dont want to have my colan removed is cost.  Its nuts!!  I get a lot of my drugs from the drug companys directly but you would think that there would be a better answer.  What is hard is that all this is very stressful wich we all know makes UC that much worse.  So what do you do? 
Posted 2/18/2010 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
I actually have insurance via myself. I was on my parents insurance and switched over to Aetna before I was dropped off. I pay $116 monthly for health and dental, although I'm thinking about dropping dental because I keep good care of my teeth (4 years of braces made me nitpicky lol).
Posted 2/23/2010 8:59 PM (GMT 0)
This is about what my husband pays for his Remicade infusions. We had a $1500 deductible to meet and then 100% is covered. He has his infusions done in the hospital
Posted 2/23/2010 9:24 PM (GMT 0)

NewShinyCD said...
So basically, we should call the insurance company and ask them where would be the cheapest place to have the infusion done (hospital vs dr office)?
My deductible is $5000 blah

Insurance company won't be able to tell you anything. Go to this site: www.2infuse.com/2infuse/ Find the closest infusion centers and start shopping. Each one will bill differently so they will all have different prices. The infusion center at my other doctors office was possible going to charge upwards of $15,000 per infusion, so I switched to a place that was going to charge $5000.
Posted 2/23/2010 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Wow glad i live in the uk you might have to wait a bit but you do not have huge bills.
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