Nothing is more stressful than opening a bill from the hospital and seeing that your life-saving infusion is going to cost $2,692 AFTER insurance—let’s just say it can cause a few gray hairs to come out of nowhere!
After trying Remicade (developed antibodies), Humira (body didn’t respond), Remicade again, Simponi (developed antibodies), I’m now taking Entyvio to which my body is responding very well to. I’ve been able to achieve clinical remission and I’m no longer steroid dependent. I’d say this is cause for celebration!
However, there is a downside—there are only two infusion centers in the state of Utah that currently provide Entyvio infusions and only one is covered by my insurance. The total for one infusion? $17,890.80. The average person on Entyvio requires eight infusions per year. That means over $143,126 in bills for one year for the average person on Entyvio. I hope you are making more money than I am, because there is no way the average person can come even close to affording $143,126 in hospital bills each year. Luckily, after insurance my bill is only $2,692.44 which isn’t horrible considering my max out-of-pocket is $9,000 for the year. $9,000 is still pretty steep, but it’s better than not having insurance.
What a lot of consumers don’t know is the majority of drug manufacturers provide financial assistance. For example, Entyvio offers Entvyio Connect, Entyvio’s Financial Assistance program, which limits caps the drug price to the consumer to only $5 per dose. My explanation of benefits from my insurance, which breaks down the hospital bill into line items and explains how much the insurance company will cover, shows that the pre-infusion medication of Benadryl and IV Steroid cost $139, IV Supplies cost $537, Laboratory Work $149.80, and Entyvio Drug expense of $17,065. My insurance covered all of the pre-infusion medication, laboratory work, majority of the Entyvio drug expense leaving me with a bill of $2,692.44.
Since I’m enrolled in the Entyvio Connect program my bill has been further reduced to just $5! That’s a savings of over 99% off my original bill with and without insurance. It really does a make difference using a co-pay card like the Entyvio Connect program to help lower your medical expenses. If you are taking a medication it is worth checking to see if the drug manufacturer offers a financial assistance program. These programs can help you save some serious money over the long-run.
Let me know your favorite ways to help lower your medical bills! Good luck and take care of your health!
Dylan B. Nelson 
As you know, I am a big believer in LIFESTYLE behavior and its relationship to better health. However, there are certainly situations (such as yours) where pharmaceutical intervention becomes an important part of treatment. Sharing your experiences and the methods to reduce the financial strain is an important contribution to fellow readers. This post will help countless numbers of people needing medical intervention unaware that financial assistance is available. Great post!
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I’m with you–if there are any natural ways to help with my medical conditions I’m all about it! However, like you mentioned, in some cases medical care is necessary and it can be awfully expensive! Thank you for your positive comment and support! Nothing adds to the stress of being sick like trying to figure out a way to pay for medications. Hopefully this post helps someone!
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I was very pleased that Humira did the same for me–my injections only cost $5 *and* they took care of my deductible so now everything is cheaper. Unfortunately, I’ve only been on Humira for 3 weeks (taken first & second loading doses) and so far I am nowhere near remission and still feeling quite poorly. Was really hoping for immediate relief.
As far as lowering medical bills, it’s always good to look for coupons and programs (I’m currently enrolled in discount programs for Apriso and Uceris). Or if you qualify, you may be able to get your meds for free via patient assistance programs (I used to receive Asacol for free through Shire Cares). XO
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I’m glad to hear Humira is helping you with the cost of your medication. Hopefully, it starts helping soon! I know with some medications like Humira it can take some time before they start helping. Maybe mention to your doctor and have your blood levels measured just to make sure your body is reacting to the Humira. My body didn’t like the Humira and I felt like crap before I switched medications. It’s really nice finding coupons and discount programs to help pay for your medical bills. That’s a super helpful tip so thanks for sharing! 🙂 Hope you are doing well 🙂
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Hey! Thanks for the tip–will definitely speak to my doc. The past 2 days have been better for me–been using EFT Tapoing to do some serious affirmations about healing (my body is a good body, my body wants to heal, every cell in my body has everything it needs to heal, I am healing right now, I will be healed, etc.) Trying to make that positive mind/body connection. I feel much stronger and calmer. XO
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