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Greg
Member
Username: Heartless1
Post Number: 16
Registered: 12-2011
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 02:42 pm: | 
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I am on a heart transplant list and have been checking the price of some drugs, the most expensive is Valcyte Tab 450, as much as $6000.00
per month before deductable, $1800.00 after deduct. Is there a genaric called Valganciclovir and is it possable to buy this drug, I also saw where someone posted about overseas drugs, so I am also interested in what was posted and if they are reliable. I have contacted Roche and asked for help but there is a income limit and the lady diden't want to talk untill I was perscribed the drug, is anybody getting help and do you know the income cutoff. I am under 65 and will be on medicare in a couple months, medicade is not an option and I will be buying an advantage plan because thats all I can get in Wv, they offer very little help.....Looking for advice.......Thanks
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SteveD
Member
Username: Sdivot
Post Number: 45
Registered: 06-2008
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 04:29 pm: |
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My insurance decided that as of this year, they will not have Valcyte on their formulary. I honestly don't know how they can justify doing this for a legitimate, FDA approved drug. Just does not seem right. But they did it.
It was going to cost me a ton of money every month, and it was going to be very tough to pay for it. Unfortunately, there is no generic and no real alternative to Valcyte.
So, my transplant coordinator put me in touch with someone on the transplant team who works with people on these issues. I gave her a copy of my 1040, and she basically handled the rest.
I was able to get on the Valcyte access program. So now I get Valcyte free!! I have to renew (qualify) every year, but so far my problem is solved.
While she was at it, she also applied to get my Prograf for free as well. My Prograf was costing me quite a lot as well, since they considered it a "special" drug and it was covered at 80%, instead of the way all my other drugs were. Never made any sense to me at all.
I was approved! So now I'm getting Prograf for free.
This has been a huge burden lifted from my shoulders just for these two drugs alone.
I had never asked about these programs before, because I thought we (my wife and I together) must have made way too much money. The woman asked if we made less than $150,000 per year. I said, "well, yeah."
That's all it took.
I suggest you speak to the right person working on your transplant team, and give it a shot. You may be surprised.
Best of luck,
Steve
Steve D
CF, Dbl Lung Transplant 4-4-08
Houston, TX |
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Happy2Bhere
Forum Leader
Username: Happy2bhere
Post Number: 4559
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 05:36 pm: |
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Wow!! I rec'd my heart transplant 21yrs ago and I wasn't even aware of this med "the most expensive is Valcyte Tab 450, as much as $6000.00
per month before deductable, $1800.00 after deduct." My meds were never that expensive. Wow!!
Good luck to you
Ol' Bob
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Jack
Forum Leader
Username: Johnhollenbach56
Post Number: 570
Registered: 12-2009
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 10:09 pm: |
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Hey Greg,
If you go to their website they will give you the criteria for their patient assistance programs - I receive all of my 'specialized' drugs through PA, and yes all of them (with the exception of prednisone) are fairly pricey. . .
Stay well
Jack Hollenbach
Received double lung transplant August 2 & 3, 2007 for COPD at UCSD Thornton Hospital, San Diego, CA
Live each day to your fullest, for it is a gift to be treasured |
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Jay Lackritz
Forum Leader
Username: Jay_ny
Post Number: 520
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 - 02:45 am: |
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Greg,
I feel your pain. When I was using valcyte, I paid for a health insurance policy that cost me $600/month, just because valcyte was included in their drug plan at a $10 copay. That was back in 2007. I was on valcyte for one year post transplant, and when the year was up, and I quit the valcyte, I also quit that health insurance and switched to a Medicare plan. At the beginning, I was on a double dose which cost (without insurance) about $2800/month, and was later put on a single dose, which would have cost me $1400/month without insurance. This is why I paid for the insurance, which cost over $800/month when I dropped it. (That insurance, which was an HMO, now costs over $1500/month.
Sorry for the long winded story.
There are two versions of this drug that are supposed to work equally well. Valtrex and Valcyte. You might want to discuss this with your doctor, since one of these is much cheaper and is also available generically. I am no medical expert and cannot speak to the differences.
Here are some studies that compare the two:
Valacyclovir vs. valganciclovir therapy to prevent cytomegalovirus disease after transplantation.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17973956
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12478408
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15699762
Now about prices.
Yes, you can buy Valtrex in a generic form from a reliable pharmacy overseas, and you can also buy it in the US. Let's begin with US prices. Costco is one of the cheapest pharmacies in the US. You do not have to be a member to use them, and if you don't have a store nearby, they will mail your drugs to you for free. Here are their prices:
VALTREX 500 MG CAPLET (GSK). Prices for 30, 60, or 90:
$228.19 $451.89 $676.00
VALTREX 1 GM CAPLET (GSK) (1,000mg) Prices for 30, 60, or 90:
$394.96 $785.94 $1,167.63
Costco also sells generic Valtrex . Their prices are:
VALACYCLOVIR HCL 500 MG TABLET (NOR)
Generic Alternative $47.99 $90.39 $130.77
VALACYCLOVIR HCL 1 GRAM TABLET (NOR)
Generic Alternative $80.19 $148.64 $216.88
Note that GSK makes the name brand version and NOR the generic sold at Costco.
Costco also sells the 450mg Valcyte you mentioned from ROC, and these are very expensive:
VALCYTE 450 MG TABLET (ROC) for 30, 60, or 90 pills $3,198.64 $6,358.07 $9,518.41
These are their prices for someone with no insurance.
We have a prescription discount card from New York State that drops prices on all drugs sold in pharmacies in New York State and gives very large discounts. My wife buys a drug that costs $150 at Walgreens, yet with the card, the price we pay is $22. https://nyprescriptionsaver.fhsc.com/
Maybe your state offers something similar.
Now for overseas.The pharmacy that most people call ADC sells valcyte that was manufactured by Cipla. Cipla is one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world, and are headquartered in India. They are just as reliable as any other drug manufacturer, and so is the pharmacy. I have been ordering generic drugs from ADC in India for well over a decade. I know literally hundreds of people who place orders with ADC, and every last one of them will testify as to how reliable they are. If you have questions about them, you can send me a private email if you wish.
Now for their prices for Generic Valcyte made by Cipla:
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) 500mg pills cost $2.20 for 3 pills (or $22 for 30)
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) 1000mg pills cost $3.60 for 3 pills (or $36 for 30)
ADC charges a fixed $25 for shipping. The charge is the same, whether you buy 3 pills or 3000 pills. For this reason, when I order from them, I either order a 6 month supply or an annual supply. They do not require a prescription, you just order off the web site. I need to add that at times, the credit card you use will occasionally have fraud on it, due to the flaky companies that process credit cards in India. Some order with a credit card and watch for fraud, some order with checks or money orders, and I order using a virtual credit card which is fraud proof from Citibank or Bank of America.
I should add that ADC sells generic versions of drugs that are only available as name brand drugs in the US, and the cost to us is usually about 100 times cheaper than buying in the US. All their drugs work as well as the US brands and are reliable.
I should also add that buying prescription drugs from outside the US, whether it's from Canada, Mexico, India, or anywhere else is illegal, due to US rules that were written by big pharma lobbyists.
Here's their web page and their facebook page:
http://www.alldaychemist.com
http://www.facebook.com/alldaychemist2
Prices:
Costco:
http://www.costco.com/Pharmacy/DrugInfo.aspx?p=1&SearchTerm=Valacyclovir&Drug=VALACYCLOVIR
http://www.costco.com/Pharmacy/DrugInfo.aspx?p=1&SearchTerm=valcyte&Drug=VALCYTE
All Day Chemist:
http://www.alldaychemist.com/863_Valtrex-500mg-
If you're concerned, here is the FDA page that describes importation of foreign drugs:
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/RegulatoryProceduresManual/ucm179266.htm
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