The business side of cancer is one that is very remarkable. I have signed a million things, actually never once questioning my treatment plan or what I would be charged. Thank God for insurance, eh? So I googled the cost of Rituxan and Bendamustine. Here's what I found out:
Bendeka
Blink Price
$18,219.40
With promo: $18,214.40
Bendamustine hcl 25 mg/ml, 30 Milliliters
This medication is used to treat certain types of cancer (e.g.
Rituxan
The portion which my insurance paid for the Rituxan itself was
consistently around $9,850. The average cost of one complete
round of treatment (two infusions) was $22,516.
I went to Compass Oncology on Tuesday morning to sign some more papers, and just asked the financial aid person if those prices were real. She informed me that my insurance will be
billed $31,000 for the first day of chemo, and $11,000 for the second day. Each round. I have a total of 6 rounds of chemo. You do the math. If you don't have insurance, you're screwed. Or sick.
I would like to believe that there are programs for those who can't afford their medicine, and I think there are. Amazing. Feeling grateful...and just a little bit pissed off. Certainly conflicted about the high cost of necessary, life-saving medicines. Glad to have access to them; upset many don't...
Thanks for raising this extremely important issue. Doug takes a medicine that costs around $30,000 per year. There is an assistance program but if you don't know about it, and no one tells you about it, well then, you're screwed! Part of my new career involves helping people figure out how to afford medical. I am heartened that assistance programs exist. I am disheartened that it is very hard to find out about them and therefore people who are vulnerable, are not technologically savvy, and don't have anyone advocating for them are getting screwed over.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have good insurance.
ReplyDelete