Drug assistance
 

i am new on medicare effective 2015. I qualified for co pay asst when covered by employer insurance. I am extremely concerned because i keep reading that you can't get the copay asst if u on medicare. So, as soon as i get my plan package, i will call ms active source with my medicare advantage plan info. Will i get assistance? I will b n d donut hole in january if i don't get help. When i called ms active source they wouldn't tell me which type of plan to get with medicare to ensure help. I can't continue on this medication without it. Please advise.

I'm on Medicare and had no problem qualifying for patient assistance. I also have a Part D prescription plan but it would not cover Tec.

I work in medicare, and there are some different things you can do to try and get assistance with copays and ect. Just give customer care a call and they should be able to assist you with any questions. :)

while most people with Medicare Part D {and othere government sponsored insurances, like DoD, Medicaid, etc} are exempted from traditional pharmaceutical company assistance programs, there are solutions.

Most MS drug Rx companies have other mechanisms & programs to get you the financial/drug assistance. It is often via funneling the request for assistance to a nonprofit org (that they may help fund)

Don't let finances stop you- there is help out there and it os not as coplicated or hopeless as it may seem. ;)

FYI- found out my assistance from PAN Foundation (grant for Tec copays) is good for one year total - so I am good until it runs out or expires. Some programs go Jan- Dec and some programs run for a specific amount of time. Good to know.

That's the patient assistance group I'm with, too!

I had blood work last week to check for my JC virus status so I can possibly start taking Tysabri.

Neuro's nurse just called to tell me I tested positive for it. :(

Now, I have to decide whether or not to take the risk of taking Ty for 2 years and hoping I don't get PML. I know it's unlikely as I'd have regular blood work done to catch it but that's only every 6 months. I'd feel better if it were every month!! :o

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. It's a scary decision to have to make but nothing with MS is ever easy is it?

What would you do in this situation?

Kelly, I can't really answer that question since I had such bad experiences with tysabri. I think if my symptoms were not stable I would probably try something. Maybe your neurologist would agree to quarterly blood work.

I thought about that, too, Barb, but I have so many unanswered questions still. My family has a history of brain related disorders. My mother passed away from Alzheimer's. My sister had early-onset Alzheimer's and passed away from that, too. Two of my Mom's sisters had Alzheimer's and one had brain cancer. :eek: I'm just hesitant to add another risk factor to my already diagnosed MS!

While I was researching PML I found two articles (both dated 2015) about a PML case with Gilenya and Tecfidera! I had no idea PML was a risk factor with those drugs. I was on Tecfidera until I had that awful allergic reaction. Scary stuff!

I think for the time being I ought to just go it alone...........

It's a hard decision. I knew that the FDA has added a PML warning for tecfidera. Maybe your neuro would consider monthly steroid infusions.

I haven't even decided if I am even going to see a neuro this fall for my yearly appointment. I didn't really like the one I saw last year too well. He will just be annoyed that I canceled the sleep study he wanted me to do. I really don't want to have a MRI, and my MS has been stable. So I think I may avoid it.