Dear Riaz it mainly depends on which part of world your are living in because the prices of pegasys or pegintron are different in each country. Pls tell where your are living, then any person from that country can guide you better. If you are living in any asian country (which is evident0 from your name then most probably you dont have insurance etc .
I tried to qualify for those free drug programs but I make too much money.
My problems didn't begin until I went past the 48 wk mark, up until then I was only paying a copay of $80.00 a month for the meds.
I fired my old Dr. who told me, to my face, he didn't get paid to fight the insurance co. and hired a new one who just treats Hep C, has the knowledge, and loves being his patient advocate.
Had I known then what I do today I would have started pushing my Dr to get me approved for the extension at 24 wks. and I most likely would have had insurance paying for everything because yesterday I received a letter from my insurance co. that said they have overturned their original decision.
So at wk 66 I've been approved to go 72 wks.
Now I have to file claims to get the money I've spent on meds reimbursed, but at least they overturned their denial and I get that chance.
Ann
Wow,
I'm so grateful to be on a study where my treatment and doc visits are free and to have a job with medical insurance when it is needed. I had no idea of the costs as my previous treatment was insured except for reasonable copays.
Joey
those costs are completely insane.... especially for something that might not even work....i can just imagine how much it will cost once they add the PI
i guess im not treating ever again unless i get on another trial... there is no way i would qualify for any help and no way im paying that kind of money
or for PEG-Intron:
Commitment to Care (Schering- Plough PEG-Intron system): 1-800-521-7157
whichever the case may be
Bill
Have you tried to qualify for free meds? The doctor has to do some paperwork, but I don't think it is too hard. Pegassist is the Roche program
8-12-05 Copay assistance program archives
"Special Consideration" program
For those taking PEGINTRON you can call the Commitment to Care Program 1-800-521-7157, the one I used. The others I found: P.S.I. 1-800-366-7741 and Patient Advocate Foundation 1-800-532-5274 also offer co pay assistance.
Pegassist 1-877-734-2797.
I qualified for Roche assistance after paying $960.00 per month for 2 months with my Basic Health program. Now I pay $0 through Roche, and a $15.00 co-pay for Dx's visits only.
My insurance denied me extending to 72 weeks so I've been paying for meds myself. I bought the meds last week; interferon was $2495.60 and riba was $1170.00 that's $3665.60 every 28 days multiply that by 12 and that is $43,987.20. Then you have to consider lab fees, Dr. visits and AD's, sleeping pills, and whatever rescue drugs you may need. Like frijole said there is biopsy, and what ever other testing that is per tx.
I don't know exact figures but my Dr and I were talking yesterday and without complications you're talking around $100,000.00 for 48 weeks.
Ann
Your question is too vauge. Do you have any insurance? The co-pays vary according to your insurance plan. Interferon -either PegIntron or Pegasys are high and only available at full price -- that is there is no generic -- so you pay whatever the company charges. Ribavirin is now available in generic and is much more reasonable than co-pegasys or the Schering version. Then like nygirl said, you may need other medicines that are pricey if your blood counts tank. And then there are the hidden costs of lotions that cannot be ignored. I spent a fortune on lotions for rashes and dryness.
In addition, the drug programs have programs, if you qualify, to help with meds.
I had tallied up my 56 weeks and what was billed to my insurance company for meds and biopsy and doctors appointment was about $88,000. My out of pocket was about $6000.
So you need to let us know what you need. The cost does not have to be a reason not to treat. We can give you links to websites, but I will wati until I know what you need.
frijole ---- welcome to the forum, by the way
I treated for 72 weeks and my total cost for treatment was about $200,000.
There is MUCH that you need to think about rather than just the cost of the peg and ribavirin. I've heard from my doctor that for 48 weeks it's about $20,000 for those two Then you need many other meds potentially and lots and lots of testing and things. However if you add the above the 48 weeks would cost more like 12x3 = $36,000.
My insurance is billed $3000.00 for a box of 4 syringes. Before my deducible is met, I pay $1600.00 out of pocket for the same box.