A question about PI availability in the future

[justme53]

Something's been bugging me about the PI's that will be available in hopefully a couple years time. It's this....with many of us boomers pushing that retirement age or possibly be unable to work full time due to age and HCV related sx, if the majority of us are on SS/Medicare, will it be able to support the cost of tx for the numbers looking for help when they are released?

Just curious..........

[justme53]

Yes, it does get to be an expensive process and as it is, sometimes we have to fight insurance companies to get the meds we need...even harder sometimes for extenders and higher dosing pts. It does worry me a bit since I am rapidly depleting my savings and only in my mid-fifties. It's a hard call at the point in time.

[Trinity4]

"Medicare" as in when my husband reached 65 and retired does not pay for drugs.  He had to supplement drug coverage with part D.

[Marc1955]

Very good point. It is necessary to improve not only the effectiveness of HCV treatments but also their cost and duration. This is true not only in the U.S. but worldwide.

I suspect when the time comes, Medicare will weigh the cost of treatment versus the cost of transplant and treating someone with cirrhosis and decide that the drugs are a bargain. My own treatment is probably costing about $60,000 all told, but when you think about the cost of surgery or an extended stay in the hospital, it's really not all that great a cost.

Does anyone know if Medicare currently covers combination therapy?

[portann]

Thanks again for your question. It's a tough one to ponder but that's what I've been doing while gardening this morning. Big stuff to think about and the garden seemed the perfect place.

Have you had any more thoughts or are we better off burying our heads in the sand for now? :)

[portann]

Huge topic and with my current half-brain or less, I can't give you much of an answer. I think even someone with a full brain would be hard-pressed.

The real strategy would be to have cheap, quick-acting meds and better preventive health and safety measures.

That in itself would reduce costs.

As for the cost of conventional meds for HCV tx, if the PI's turn out to cut tx time in half, that saves half the cost of Interferon and Riba but then who knows the market price of the PI's. Then there are reduced costs in rescue drugs, testing, medical visits, etc., due to a shorter period of tx. (The rescue drugs are hugely expensive.)

Then there's also the higher cure rate,  less need for re-treatment and fewer liver transplants, etc.

2500-3000 Americans die EVERY day from cardiovascular disease. Aging boomers will be facing these health issues as well, and some of us also have HCV.

Hope there's an inspired and practical solution.