My Road to Treatment (pt 4)

My insurance initially rejected the order of Aubagio because it wasn't on their preferred list of treatments for MS. When the pharmacist called me to get more ammo for the appeal, out of curiosity I asked him how much the medication would cost if I wanted to pay for it myself. He said that initial rejections by the insurance were common and they expected the appeal to go through successfully, but that one month supply was typically $7,000. Of course this would have been impossible for me to do on my own.

During the approval process with my insurance company I got a few letters in the mail stating that they had rejected the request for Aubagio and recommended something on their preferred drug list instead. None of the orals were on the preferred list, most likely because they are newer and more expensive. Eventually one of the pharmacists from the clinic called to tell me it had been approved by my insurance, and since my copay was expensive they were submitting my information to the pharmaceutical company's copay assistance program. I found out later that my copay would have been $1,100 for a 28 day supply, but through the copay assistance program I don't have to pay anything.  

Many of the pharmaceutical companies provide a copay assistance program to encourage patients to use these newer treatments. As I've mentioned before, the more people who use the treatment the more potential data we have about results. Also, it is not the easiest process to switch to another MS treatment. Aubagio is one that lingers in your body for a long time after you stop taking the pills, so if I decide I want to quit it, I have to take another medication to flush it from my system. 

My experience with Aubagio has been good so far. I've been on it for about a month now and haven't experienced any severe side effects. For the first 6 months, I have to go in for monthly blood tests so they can monitor my liver function. I will visit my neurologist this week for a follow up. I'm curious to see how the treatment continues and what the results will be on my next MRI in about 6 months or more.

**this is the 4th and final installment of this series**