Avonex Cost
$60 every 90 days on my blue cross plan
Not as good as at my previous company though, where there was no copay for injectibles like Avonex so it was free.
- blackdog
- Getting to Know You...
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:00 pm
- Location: southeastern NC, US
I guess I am a "lucky" one- since it is injectable, it is covered under my medical expenses instead of prescription. I still have to fork out over 10% of my net pay every month just for the Avonex, but then I finally reach my out of pocket limit and they pay at 100%. I am employed and my insurance is offered through my empoyer. It is a great plan for me because all the doctors I see are preferred providers which means they cover a higher percentage of the costs. I also insure my huband, as he is self-employed and his insurance before we married was very expensive.
BTW, at the beginnig the insurance company was being very weird about covering the Avonex- one day they were going to cover it, the next day not..so I called them up and when I got a real person on the phone I informed them than I was going to record this call for quality purposes.
(anyone who has been on the phone with any business knows to what I am referring!) The change in their attitude was amazing- I got complete answers in a respectful way, and best of all they followed through with everything they stated in that conversation. No more run around! Yeah!
Sneaky? Naw, more like CYA.
Oh yeah, when I was first going to start on the Avonex, Biogen Active Source were the ones who found the pharmacy, set up a delivery, and contacted my insurer initially to verify the best way to get the most coverage. Most helpful!
Hope this can help someone.
- ClancyPavillion
- Getting to Know You...
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- Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:00 pm
- Location: New England
- blackdog
- Getting to Know You...
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:00 pm
- Location: southeastern NC, US
Our company is self-insured, they just use a benefits administrator.
Wow, I don't bring home $1500 a month, how do you absorb that expense? I guess you know it's coming and you can save up for it?
Why do you say that your insurance company keeps trying to drop you?
What are they doing that makes you say that?
We would definitely be in trouble if I lost my job...
- ClancyPavillion
- Getting to Know You...
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:00 pm
- Location: New England

My insurance company is a complete nightmare. They figure out a new way every quarter to try to tell me that my account is in trouble: when I got married, they claimed they couldn't cash my check to pay for my plan because it had a different name on it than usual. (though I had sent them copies of my marraige cert. and new ID) It's just little stuff each month... like one month my check had about a quarter of an inch torn out of the edge and they said that it was invalid and that I was now delinquint on my payments. BOGUS!!! I'm the most on-top-of-things gal you'll ever meet, so they never have a leg to stand on. But it's still a total frustration.
That is another rant I will get into another time... it's boring and confusing and I don't want to gank this person's thread any more than I already have

- HarryZ
- Family Elder
- Posts: 2570
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2004 2:00 pm
- Location: London, ON, Canada
- Contact:
Copaxone has been around since the mid 90's and the price just continues to go up. Normally it's the other way around by the companies who manufacture the approved MS drugs are the only game in town and charge what the market will pay!mssusan wrote:When I read most of the replies I feel like my insurance is even worse that it seemed before I started reading. I am self-insured and due to the deductible I paid $800 for the first month. Every month after is $500 until the end of the year at which point it's back to meeting the deductible and coming up with another $800. I am still in shock about the price. Between the cost and increasing discomfort with the shot, I am condering going off it.
If these drugs gave a much higher efficacy on the disease it would likely be worth but unfortunately they don't. If one's insurance doesn't pay the shot, then it becomes a difficult decision on whether to continue or not.
Harry
I have to say we in Australia are very lucky. All the CRABS are subsidised by the federal government (maximum cost is $30 per month), and depending on the neurologist you see, it can even be free. My wife goes to one of the leading MS specialists in Australia - and doesn't pay a cent. Nothing for consultations, nothing for MRIs, nothing for IV steroids when required... It's not as if she is a special case or because we have additional insurance - the neuro works out of a specialist MS clinic in a public hospital.
Of course, if you're very wealthy, then the US offers additional benefits (such slightly quicker access to newer drugs), but given the risks with new drugs, that is not always such a good thing I guess.
Walmart & Avonex $
Walmart price for one month supply of Avonex is:
$2,941.00
I thought they were going to beat everyone eles prices!?

