Re: Digest Number 2082

[Guest guest]

Dear fellow RSS parents,

My daughter Eliana is almost 4 years old, 37 " and 26 lbs. Dr. Harbison wants

her to begin growth hormone therapy (nutropin .36cc nightly injection) in the

near future. Before starting the treatment, I need to find out what it will

cost, but my insurance company (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) won't tell me the costs

or how much insurance will cover until the prescription is written and filled.

I'd appreciate it if some of you could tell me what you have paid for GHT,

whether your insurance covers some or all of the cost, and whether it's been

difficult to get coverage. Does anybody know what it costs without insurance

coverage? Does the cost increase dramatically as the child gets bigger?

Thanks so much for any information you can share.

Alice

[Guest guest]

Hi Alice -

I recently went through a similar situation. My son is also four

years old and I was so scared about the whole insurance thing. But,

it worked out well. We recently started seeing Dr. H but our

previous endo actually started Dom on GHT so this is how it went:

The endo wrote the scrip and sent it to Phizer Bridge program which

then contacted our insurance company and dealt with them. For one

month, the Bridge program gave us the meds for free until it got

worked out. By the second month, the insurance agreed to pay.

Express Scripts sends us the meds every month via overnight Federal

Express (I think). I call Phizer Bridge when we have five doses left

and they tell Express Scripts to send it. Someone has to be at home

(or at your workplace) to sign for it which can be a hassle but

that's workable. We pay a co-pay of $30 per month which is great.

As far as the costs, maybe someone else who was at the convention can

help with this one. During one lecture this topic was discussed and

I remember adding it up in my head. I figured that Dom's GHT would

cost $900 per month. He is on .6mg per day.

Hope this helps!

F

> Dear fellow RSS parents,

> My daughter Eliana is almost 4 years old, 37 " and 26 lbs. Dr.

Harbison wants

> her to begin growth hormone therapy (nutropin .36cc nightly

injection) in the

> near future. Before starting the treatment, I need to find out what

it will

> cost, but my insurance company (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) won't tell

me the costs

> or how much insurance will cover until the prescription is written

and filled.

>

> I'd appreciate it if some of you could tell me what you have paid

for GHT,

> whether your insurance covers some or all of the cost, and whether

it's been

> difficult to get coverage. Does anybody know what it costs without

insurance

> coverage? Does the cost increase dramatically as the child gets

bigger?

> Thanks so much for any information you can share.

> Alice

[Guest guest]

Alice,

We, too, see Dr. H. and we, too, have BCBS insurance. They have

paid for Max's gh for years. There has never been a problem with

them. If there is for you, however, just let Dr. H. know and she

will try to get it approved. Actually, you may not have a terrible

time because some gh is approved by the FDA now. I'm just surprised

that Dr. H. did not tell you the dose. But she has to write it in

the prescription that the homecare company gets, so they will know.

Jodi