After my husband's Erbitux today, stopped to get his 2 "new" prescriptions at Walgreen's. $310 for 10 Fentanyl 75 mcg. patches and $160 for Percocet tablets for breakthrough pain. He has no prescription insurance. How are we supposed to deal with this? Anyone have any ideas for medication help?
Lori

We got some of the more expensive meds billed through the hospital when we went for the chemo. The nurses actually suggested this. You could also try contacting the drug companies and explain your situation. Most have websites now.

Sue

Lori, thats just insane!!!!

If you havent called the American Cancer Society yet, please call your local chapter. They helped me with my meds by sending a voucher to the pharmacy for $300 to help with my meds. I have good insurance but the more expensive meds had a $40 co-pay which added up quickly.

Another avenue is the drug manufacuterer. Look up the meds online, most companies have something to help people in your situation.

You could also try the hospital where he is treated. Ask for help. Where I went, they asked the patients if they were ok or in need of financial assistance. Even try asking the doctor who is prescribing the meds if they have samples or have any resources you can go thru.

Even try asking a church or local organization like Lyons clubs. It doesnt hurt to ask, the worst that can happen is they say no which is where you are right now. I dont know how medical assistance works with prescriptions, but maybe your local public assistance office is worth a try too.

Your husband needs these meds to get thru tx. Just remember, its ok to ask for help. Hope you find some assistance.

I have never heard of prices like that for Fentanyl patches costing so much. I just went and checked my receipt for that stuff and it shows the full price as $71.99 before my copay is deducted. Christine gave you some good advice. From our local cancer society I received 2 checks to help me. One was for $500 and the next was for $300. I had to be told to call them too by someone in the forums.

You might also check alternative pharmacies -- Last I heard, Costco was the least expensive and you don't have to be a member to get in to use the pharmacy. Wal-Mart also has good prices.

I can't believe the cost of care across the pond!
For all of it's faults I must say they NHS here has been fantastic. We did not pay a penny for care or meds. Cancer patients here get free prescriptions, and every week we got boxes of Ensure and scandishake free of charge.

But you still talk funny.

David... what are you drinking?

I have a friend and a couple of relatives that say UK, Canada, Japan and other countries' health care systems are in shambles because of socialized medical care. I disagree, but, since talking politics is not my thing I find it hard to get into the debate.

haha David, I talk even funnier than you might expect! My dad is a Texan, my mum is French, i grew up in France but have been living in England for the past 15 years. I have been told I sound foreign but no one can figure out where I come from. But my dad's mate whom I visited in hopsital said :"You sound like a limey"

[quote=Ray1971]I have a friend and a couple of relatives that say UK, Canada, Japan and other countries' health care systems are in shambles because of socialized medical care. I disagree, but, since talking politics is not my thing I find it hard to get into the debate. [/quote]
Well there is loads to criticise about our health system, it's far from perfect and some hosptials are filthy, but I am not complaining too much, they are looking after Martin quite well. And it is free (well I give �2002.93 a month towards the National Insurance like for income tax, but everyone else who earns and pays tax pays a contribution as well). I suppose we are lucky as well that we just happened to live next to one of the best cancer hospital in the UK.

Actually I love the British accent. It sounds so proper most of the time especially compared to how our language has taken many turns for the worse.

David i would love to sit you in a room with half a dozen people from different regions of the uk.By the time you had heard a selection of our regional dialects you wouldn't know what a british accent sounded like lol.
Scouse,Mancunian,Brum,Geordie,Tyke,Scots,Welsh,Cornish,its brilliant and gives us our fantastic diverse character.As for our healthcare system......its great and i for one won't knock it.Celia that must be one well paid job for that size of NI contribution.

We have a few "different" English dialects here as well like Southern, New Yorkish, New Englandish and last but not to be left out Hoodish. They can all be a challenge depending upon where you grew up.

At $1.65US to one pound, that's $3,305/month or $39,660 per year. That's certainly not free for people with jobs!!

The NHS is "free" for everyone wether you have a job or not Presriptions are charged at �7.50 per item or free if you are on a low income or welfare or have a long term illness.The origonal intention was that everyone who worked would pay a percentage of their earnings in national insurance to cover the cost of dental,maternity and health care .Nowdays their isn't free dental care,just subsidised unless you are on welfare,but the NHS soldiers on.Income tax in the UK is charged at 18 pence in the pound on earnings over �5000 and national insurance is much less.I was gob smacked when i read how much Cecilia said she pays and i could only presume she is one of the UK top earners and in the super tax bracket.As a self employed man my husband paid approximately �25.00 per month and as an employee i used to pay about �60.00 per month.If i was to add up how much robs treatment, medication welfare rent allowance etc came to i would guess it would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds,and i think thats a good return for a very small investment.the bottom line really is that no matter who you are or what you earn or even if you don't earn anything,in the UK we NEVER have to worry about what we can and can't afford as regards health care,as we all get it without question and we all get the same unless we choose to opt out and insure ourselves privately in which case the waiting time is substantially reduced and you get a fancy private hospital,but the doctors are the same ones you see on the NHS.

Sounds like you need an accountant to figure out just where you stand. My wife and I pay $1,497.40 per month for top quality, no specialist referral needed, family medical and dental coverage with Aetna. Actually, the dental is with MetLife and is about $110 of the monthly total. My total tab to date for the BOT Tx is just over 300K and we have been out of pocket maybe 3K.

Bill D.

Unfortunately our insurance coverage is thru husband's employer. When he exhausts all medical leave the company will let him go and with that the end to our insurance. Since our income has dropped by over 50% since diagnosis it's fair to say we're bankrupt and can't file in case of a recurrence. Creditors are screaming and I've explained until I just don't answer the phone anymore. So...to add insult to injury, here we are. The kicker is that even with the lowered income, when his insurance goes, we won't qualify for state aid without a big pay down. Nothing like falling in the cracks where I'm guessing most of the middle class lands.

Cheryl Im sorry to hear of your troubles. That really stinks!!!!! Its one thing to be sick, then to have financial burdens on top of it. Your household must be really struggling thru a rough time. We all struggle with different things once a brush with this disease.

This may sound like a dumb question, is there any way your husband is able to do light duty at his former job? Its a darn shame his employer will fire him. What kind of work did he do?

Best wishes with everything.

ahhhh Christine! How did I know you'd be right here with words of support! You are a gem!!! My husband does factory work. When he left he was driving a tow motor which was ok as he has major trouble with varicose veins in his legs. However, he has been off long enough for his job to be bid and he would go back to work in the factory - on the line. Not enough stamina to be on his feet 8 hours a day (and this place works 12 hours a lot) and if he did, he would get an ulcer on his foot. Has happened 3 times in 10 years. We've tried to look from every angle and it's just not going to work out. We got lucky that the company had already let a couple of others be off longer than FMLA and medical leave as usual and now they will have to let him off that long too. Guess my point was that there's got to be something better than the health care system we have now....

Sounds like the short end of the stick. Is there such a thing as going back with limitations or light duty? Is this a union job? It sure isnt like he was calling out sick to play cards. I was a former union steward and know how big companies skirt around doing the right thing for their employees sometimes. I hate to see the underdog get the shaft.

Im going to think up something to help you guys with this. Soon I will have way too much time on my hands so I will come up with something

No union at his shop. We will be ok...I'm one of those push, pull or drag yourself thru it gals...you know the type He's been approved for Social Security and will get long term disability for awhile. I'll still work part time and we will be ok. It will be a big change from what we had income wise before but then this whole thing is a big change from before isn't it? This too will be part of the new normal and we will get thru it. (Doesn't mean I have to be in a good mood while I wrangle with creditors, insurance companies, etc. tho does it?!?!)

Why doesn't he go back to work on the line and then develop his leg or foot problems due to the working conditions and then file for work related disability? Two can play this game.

Re the creditors calling. get their name and address and write a quick "do not call me" letter and by law they are required to stop. If they continue to call you, write down the time and hire an atty as there are big fines that can be imposed federally.

Cheryl,
Since your husbands has qualified for SSD benefits, I believe he also qualifies for Medicare after receiving SSD for two years.

To help bridge those two years of medical coverage you might want to looking into COBRA. If you husband is fired the Federal Government has currently been covering up to 60% of COBRA cost for fired and laid-off workers.

Your husband's employer is required to provide you all of the details of COBRA and allow him to keep his policy for a minimum of 18 months, basically at the 'group rate' his employer is paying less anything the Federal Government will currently pick up under the 'Recovery Act'.

In some states, under certain conditions (including disability) COBRA coverage can last for more than 18 months. For Example, in California it can last up to 36 months (Federal COBRA - 18 + State COBRA - 18).

Good Luck

I think the "do not call" thing only applies after a debt is turned over to a collection agent - that's when the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act kicks in. As long as it's the creditor themselves calling from in-house they can get by with a lot. On bad days I pick up the phone and chew some butt since I've told them all before - I ask them to go back and read their notes they should have for the past 3 months at least....anyhow, as soon as the FDCPA kicks in, they will get a letter. They already have emails and phone notes. I even had one hang up on me - I consider that to be an accomplishment!

Thanks for the info on COBRA. I will look into that as soon as the time comes.

Ooops, my finger must have stuttered, I pay �202.93 a month. Wow, �2002 a month, I don't even earn that.
Anyway, i think it's good value for money, at the �202/month not the previous amount.

i thought you must have made a typo lol.Either that or you are very very rich!!!

Maybe when I win the Euromillions!

I was surprised to see this post still getting replies after all this time. The ironic thing is, I am left with a $310 Fentanyl precription that I filled 2 days before Ron died. I called the pharmacy and told them I had not even unstapled the bag, but they "could not" take it back. They told me to wait for one of the special disposal days to come so I could throw them away. Yeah.....Just another thing that makes me want to scream!
Lori

yep, that would make me want to scream too.....it's endless