The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Costs

Wow, Multiple Sclerosis is Expensive

multiple sclerosis expenses

I always knew that living with multiple sclerosis (MS) was super-expensive, but a new study is a real eye-opener. The study, published in the journal Neurology, puts the annual tab for MS in the U.S. at $85.4 billion in 2019. Most of that amount, $63.3 billion, comes from direct medical costs — things like disease-modifying therapy (DMT) infusions at clinics ($6.7 billion), outpatient care ($5.5 billion), and prescription medications ($37.9…Continue Reading

Did Amazon Have the Secret to Less Costly Healthcare?

Amazon healthcare costs

The answer to whether Amazon, in partnership with a pair of financial giants, can make healthcare more accessible and less expensive for its workers is: Apparently, it can’t. About two years after rolling out a project known as Haven, the plug is being pulled. The idea had been for Amazon to pool resources with the investment and banking firms Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. “to make primary care…Continue Reading

Could This Lawsuit Threaten Patient Assistance Programs?

Patient assistance programs

The manufacturer of Copaxone is the target of a US Justice Department lawsuit and its outcome could affect many of us who receive copay help for our medications. The legal case involves the interaction between pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit organizations that provide grants to people who need help paying for their treatments. For example, when I couldn’t afford the monthly copay for Aubagio (teriflunomide) several years ago, I qualified for…Continue Reading

Does Your Neuro Consider Your MS Medication Costs?

medication costs

Does your doctor think about what your medication costs will be when prescribing your MS meds? A few months ago I wrote a post about why some people stop, or skip, their MS meds. One of the reasons is that they can’t afford the out-of-pocket MS medication costs. A suggested solution is to talk with your doctor about cost whenever a new medication is suggested. But, according to the Centers…Continue Reading

Judge Calls Health Insurance Denial “Immoral and Barbaric”

Judge

Robert Scola Jr. is a federal judge in Miami and he’s just recused himself from a case involving the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) insurance company. The case is one of two filed in Miami over the last two months claiming that UHC has improperly denied coverage for a specific cancer treatment. Scola calls that denial “immoral and barbaric.” He put those words on paper in his recusal order. In his order, Scola…Continue Reading

Insurer Sends Patients to Mexico to Find Less Expensive Meds

Less expensive meds

MS medications are expensive in the United States. We all know that. We also know that less expensive meds can be found in places like Canada and Mexico. So, here’s a novel idea from the nonprofit health insurance provider PEHP, which covers state workers and their families in Utah: Pay those patients to buy their expensive meds south of the border. As Erin Alberty reports in The Salt Lake Tribune, the…Continue Reading

Are Patient Assistance Programs Threatened by Government Probe?

Many of us have received help to pay for our MS medications. Now it’s possible that patient assistance programs, including copay help, could be threatened. A recent article in the The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. government prosecutors are looking into whether some pharmaceutical companies’ patient assistance programs are on the wrong side of the law. These include direct copay assistance, donations to foundations that help patients pay for…Continue Reading