Guest guest Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 Hi beth and All, beth, were you able to negotiate a better price for your thyrogen shots? I've just been quoted $1300 for two shots and Medicare and my Medigap no longer cover any medications: OUCH! Anyone have any ways to lower this cost? New endo is proposing two shots, then test Tg and see how much it rises from previous. If a big reaction, proposes no scan, but usual cytomel, LID, and big RAI followed by WB scan for recurrent. Don't want to go to convention hypo, but with the likelyhood of needing to go hypo, not anxious to spend $1300 on thyrogen vs (insert dream here). Thanks, Jo in AZ follicular, tt 94, RAI X 2 recurred 02, 3rd RAI, Tg latest 4.4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 I got my thyrogen shots for $1180 by going through the doctor and not directly from the bio-tech place. beth Thyrogen Cost? Hi beth and All, beth, were you able to negotiate a better price for your thyrogen shots? I've just been quoted $1300 for two shots and Medicare and my Medigap no longer cover any medications: OUCH! Anyone have any ways to lower this cost? New endo is proposing two shots, then test Tg and see how much it rises from previous. If a big reaction, proposes no scan, but usual cytomel, LID, and big RAI followed by WB scan for recurrent. Don't want to go to convention hypo, but with the likelyhood of needing to go hypo, not anxious to spend $1300 on thyrogen vs (insert dream here). Thanks, Jo in AZ follicular, tt 94, RAI X 2 recurred 02, 3rd RAI, Tg latest 4.4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 > I got my thyrogen shots for $1180 by going through the > doctor and not directly from the bio-tech place. beth, I realize that you are in the midst of Health Insurance Hell right now so this probably does not apply to you. Anyone else who is planning to use Thyrogen should be sure to contact Genzyme with questions about your insurance coverage or how to obtain Thyrogen, and you should call one of the distributors from the Thyrogen Distribution Network. Reimbursement specialists can help you verify your insurance benefits and answer any questions you have about reimbursement. (All this Distributor info is in the Patient Information Kit Genzyme supplies to the Drs. to give to the patient....ask your Dr. for one or you can download the kit from Genzyme's website). The first time I used Thyrogen (July 2002), I called Genzyme to find out the fastest & cheapest way to obtain it. I have a 80/20 policy in which I pay the full cost to the pharmacy and then send in the receipts to get reimbursed for 80% of the cost. I wanted to make sure I was doing this in the proper form in order to pay my routine 20%. As it turns out, the Genzyme reimbursement specialist asked if my Health Insurance Policy had a " Home Delivery Option " for prescriptions. It did, but I had never bothered using it before. She suggested I use that option for obtaining Thyrogen as she said it was always the least expensive way for anyone to get Thyrogen. I ordered it from the Merck-Medco website (my insurance provider for Home Delivery), included my credit card no. and was billed $30 for the prescription. Merck-Medco's statement listed the price as $864 but I was only charged $30. It was delivered to my home overnight via Fed-Ex in a large styrofoam medical parcel with ice (Thyrogen needs to be kept refrigerated). $30 was my TOTAL cost with no extra for overnight shipping. I used Thyrogen again in July 2003. Merck-Medco listed the price this year as $979, but again my charge was $30. I realize that not everyone has a Home Delivery Option benefit with their health care insurance, and the reimbursement issue + needing to contact distributors for a prescription is odd for most patients, but trust me, the extra footwork is worth it. Had I not called Genzyme that first time, I would have simply tried to get my prescription filled at my local Costco which would have taken lots of time and cost lots more money. Genzyme has a system in place to help you get thru this...anyone who is unsure about insurance benefits for Thyrogen should call them. Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 21, 2003 Report Share Posted September 21, 2003 Hi all, I just returned from the American Thyroid Association conference. In speaking with one of the Genzyme reps there, she mentioned to me that they have financial assistance for those who have no insurance, make under $30,000/year, and it is medically necessary for them to have the Thyrogen injections. If you fall into this category, you can probably get more information and details by contacting their reimbursement hotline at . Leah Guljord ThyCa, Inc. Recording Secretary In a message dated 9/21/03 1:33:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time, marsher@... writes: > > beth, I realize that you are in the midst of Health Insurance Hell > right now so this probably does not apply to you. > > Anyone else who is planning to use Thyrogen should be sure to contact > Genzyme with questions about your insurance coverage or how to obtain > Thyrogen, and you should call one of the distributors from the > Thyrogen Distribution Network. Reimbursement specialists can help you > verify your insurance benefits and answer any questions you have about > reimbursement. (All this Distributor info is in the Patient > Information Kit Genzyme supplies to the Drs. to give to the > patient....ask your Dr. for one or you can download the kit from > Genzyme's website). > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 21, 2003 Report Share Posted September 21, 2003 Thanks beth & Marilyn, Stuck with no-one answering phones on Sunday, but will call several sources tomorrow. So far, I've heard a few hundred less, but then endo's office would probably tack on 'office visit + plus' so would I save any? Evidently thyrogen is not available in Canada, at least not on their mail order pharmacy websites. Endo's thyrogen assistant says Medicare will NOT cover thyrogen, and my Medigap no longer covers prescriptions since it just got too expensive to carry prescription coverage. Jo in AZ follicular > > I got my thyrogen shots for $1180 by going through the > > doctor and not directly from the bio-tech place. > > beth, I realize that you are in the midst of Health Insurance Hell > right now so this probably does not apply to you. > > Anyone else who is planning to use Thyrogen should be sure to contact > Genzyme with questions about your insurance coverage or how to obtain > Thyrogen, and you should call one of the distributors from the > Thyrogen Distribution Network. Reimbursement specialists can help you > verify your insurance benefits and answer any questions you have about > reimbursement. (All this Distributor info is in the Patient > Information Kit Genzyme supplies to the Drs. to give to the > patient....ask your Dr. for one or you can download the kit from > Genzyme's website). > > The first time I used Thyrogen (July 2002), I called Genzyme to find > out the fastest & cheapest way to obtain it. I have a 80/20 policy in > which I pay the full cost to the pharmacy and then send in the > receipts to get reimbursed for 80% of the cost. I wanted to make sure > I was doing this in the proper form in order to pay my routine 20%. > As it turns out, the Genzyme reimbursement specialist asked if my > Health Insurance Policy had a " Home Delivery Option " for > prescriptions. It did, but I had never bothered using it before. She > suggested I use that option for obtaining Thyrogen as she said it was > always the least expensive way for anyone to get Thyrogen. I ordered > it from the Merck-Medco website (my insurance provider for Home > Delivery), included my credit card no. and was billed $30 for the > prescription. Merck-Medco's statement listed the price as $864 but I > was only charged $30. It was delivered to my home overnight via > Fed-Ex in a large styrofoam medical parcel with ice (Thyrogen needs to > be kept refrigerated). $30 was my TOTAL cost with no extra for > overnight shipping. > > I used Thyrogen again in July 2003. Merck-Medco listed the price this > year as $979, but again my charge was $30. > > I realize that not everyone has a Home Delivery Option benefit with > their health care insurance, and the reimbursement issue + needing to > contact distributors for a prescription is odd for most patients, but > trust me, the extra footwork is worth it. Had I not called Genzyme > that first time, I would have simply tried to get my prescription > filled at my local Costco which would have taken lots of time and cost > lots more money. Genzyme has a system in place to help you get thru > this...anyone who is unsure about insurance benefits for Thyrogen > should call them. > > Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 (snip) > Evidently thyrogen is not available in Canada, > at least not on their mail order pharmacy websites. > Endo's thyrogen assistant says Medicare will NOT cover thyrogen, > and my Medigap no longer covers prescriptions since it just got > too expensive to carry prescription coverage. > Jo in AZ > follicular > Hi Jo, I just wanted to clarify that Thyrogen IS available in Canada (it was formally approved by Health Canada in May 2002); however, as far as I know, it is only distributed through the pharmacies that are affiliated with the hospitals that are using it. The company that has exclusive marketing rights here is Theramed Corporation http://www.theramed.com/ Lately there has been a lot of media coverage about Americans getting prescription drugs from Canada and I know that various agencies (like the FDA?) are trying to crack down on it. Here in Canada, we pay around $1,500 Cdn for one Thyrogen kit. Considering the exchange rate, I don't think there's a significant difference compared to what US pharmacies are charging. Theresa, London ON Canada P.S. Canadians affected by thyroid cancer are welcome to join our listserv: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thryvors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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