This back to school supply is going to cut into my Disney budget...Epi Pen Increase

[LilyWDW]

Sadly, this is the reason I have not been able to keep mine up to date. Luckily the allergies that I need an Epi Pen for are easy to avoid (specific antibiotics) but it is scary to know that I don't have it in case of an emergency. However, at this price there is no way I can afford it as I live paycheck to paycheck and am barely making enough to survive now.

 

[PlutoPony]

You do not need to be a Costco member to use their pharmacy - where it's required by state law (which is most states I believe).
Check Costco pricing, they have been great at giving prices over the phone. They have a rep of being lower in price than most other pharmacies in my area

 

[kydisneyfans]

We use coupons from goodrx.com all the time. Saves us thousands a year on various meds.
Keep looking-my Humira is close to $3,000 a month. After research and talking to my doc, I now pay $5. It's not income based, you have to research and maybe not be brand loyal when it comes to pharmacy. This is through CVS.

We have dog meds at both CVS(pheno thru goodrx) and Costco(Keppra). Regular meds are at Kroger. The difference in dog med prices is astronomical. Costco is saving us over a grand a year on the Keppra, but the pheno at CVS is $700 a year less than Costco.

 

[kydisneyfans]

https://webrebate.trialcard.co...n/EpinephrinePortal/--Have your tried this program?

 

[MomToOne]

I also saw a recent news story on this. It is disgusting what the manufacturer is doing - basically they spiked the price because the only competitor dropped out of the business after quality issues. To justify it, they give the old song and dance about how expensive it is to develop new drugs, yada, yada, yada. I am so sick of all that - the fact is it was cheaper before but now they've hiked the price only because they have a monopoly and they CAN charge more.

The story I saw said some families come to pick up their prescription and refuse it because they simply can't afford it now and have no other choice - they are deciding to risk going without or just hope their old, out of date ones will actually work.

 

[wilkeliza]

I saw our Mayor's wife has taken action against this astronomical rise. It is so sad that families can't afford to keep their children safe. Not to say epipens aren't important for adults because I know a few adults who have them but I have to imagine accidental allergy reactions are most common in kids to college age adults.

This reminds me of back when the inhaler companies successfully got rid of generics for a long time. You could only get albuterual as a generic and that had to be nebulizer only not a inhaler. Albuteral makes me jittery and fuzzy headed since it is not the prescription I needed. I had to stop getting my inhaler because it jumped to $600 for a 30 day supply. I learned to deal with out it but I know my lungs would be much more clear with it. I let it lapse so long that now to get the prescription I have to go back through all the allergy and asthma testing I did to get the first prescription.

 

[Hikergirl]

I just checked GoodRx and $614 is the lowest for it in my area. The last one I got filled for ds was around $450 and back in March. It expires 4/2017. I am kicking myself for not getting the refill as soon as I was able because now its costing me way more.
I understand the need for the medication but my ds has never ever had to use it. He is older and knows how to avoid his allergen. I hate that I spend all that money for something that ends up getting thrown out. I wish you could "refill" the injector with new meds at a discounted price if they aren't used.

This issue has been in the news lately. I do hope it ends up being listed as a preventative in the very near future.

 

[DisneyMandC]

You do not need to be a Costco member to use their pharmacy - where it's required by state law (which is most states I believe).
Check Costco pricing, they have been great at giving prices over the phone. They have a rep of being lower in price than most other pharmacies in my area

That's interesting, they always scan my Costco card at the pharmacy. Wonder if mine is an exception.

 

[wendow]

I have priced every place in town, including Costco. Our lowest price, just under $500 for a 2-pack, was not through Costco. We are on a high deductible plan as well.

@Hikergirl , my dd was almost 16 when she had her reaction this past May. I was in a bit of shock myself cause we have known since she was 18 mos that she has a peanut allergy. She has been taught to never put anything in her mouth that she doesnt know what is in it or cannot read the ingredients. Safe eating has been a huge deal for us. And yet, she still managed to eat peanuts and then went into shock. Thank God she knew where her pen was and how to use it as symptoms began fast. My point in telling you all this is that I later found out that teen kids through college are where most reactions happen. It makes sense. We parents start relaxing about the allergy, assuming our kids are old enough and have been taught. My dd was enjoying last day of school, given food from a teacher, who should have never brought peanuts in, and it was a food that doesn't normally have peanuts. Accidents happen, lapses in judgement happen, kids are still kids...and don't even get me started on the fear of teen dating and kissing...

 

[Sagginit]

I have been following this on food allergy groups (I'm a celiac and my sibling has a deadly dairy allergy). It seems like a lot of people are finding that coupons and discounts don't work because of the high deductible plans everyone is stuck with. I often can't just take generic medication as it might have gluten in it (commonly used as a binder) but I am at the mercy of my health insurance and sometimes you can't even contact the company that makes the generic to find out. Just 2-3 years ago I could always get the name brand but now my insurance refuses to cover any of those. Forget about trying to pay for medication w/o your insurance, the last time this happened they had already filled my prescription so they were saying they could get me the cost of the one I wanted to pay out of pocket but I would need a new script from my doctor as they had "used" the one I just got. It was antibiotics so my health couldn't afford to wait 48 hours to sort it all out. My doctor had also called in for the name brand knowing it was safe for me to take but the insurance company gets the last say in what is covered, so even with a legitimate medical reason to have the name brand insurance had ever right to refuse it which is crazy.

It really is terrible as our healthcare system is taking away from the quality of life for many rather than adding to it. For me this has become the number one issue when choosing politicians as this is starting to cost me so much as I get older and have routine health issues that need to be treated. I am really scared about what will happen if no one takes control. I think the one good thing is with many people now having deductibles to meet they see how overpriced everything is and are questioning the system. I mean if your insurance was willing to cover the epipen cost with a small co-pay most of us wouldn't think twice about it, but when its out of pocket you start to notice the dramatic increase in these things.

 

[lvillotta1]

I am a Allergy/Asthma nurse. We see this everyday at our office. I did find online a generic Epi pen around $400. I believe it is an auto injector. We have been giving the coupons out to all of our patients and thus far we have not had a call from any pharmacy that they did not accept it. Let me look it up and I will repost if I find it. We are also writing for generic epi on all of our script sheets. One of our Docs just today was interviewed by our local news regarding this epidemic. I would also reach out to the drug company to see if you can get any more financial help.

 

[lvillotta1]

I just googled this. It is called adrenaclick. Consumer reports is stating you can get a 2pck for around $148.

 

[wendow]

I just googled this. It is called adrenaclick. Consumer reports is stating you can get a 2pck for around $148.

Do you need a special prescription for this and do you know if most pharmacies are carrying it? That would an awesome alternative if available! Thanks for the info!

 

[Hikergirl]

Do you need a special prescription for this and do you know if most pharmacies are carrying it? That would an awesome alternative if available! Thanks for the info!

If its a generic I think all you would need is to make sure your doctor doesn't check "dispense as written" on your epi-pen Rx.
I think I'm going to call ds' allergist tomorrow to see if he can write a new Rx. I did check good Rx and Walmart and Sams have it for $141, but other places are higher. The cash price is listed as $453 but its $353 with coupon at CVS where I normally go. I will be calling Walmart to see if they have it in stock.
Hope you can find it near you as well.

Thank you lvillotta for posting

 

[tarheel618]

This has been in the news recently, how the prices have gone up dramatically in the past 8-10 years. Lawmakers are supposedly getting involved but who knows where that will go and how quickly. Is that standard, that insurance/prescription plans do not cover them? Maybe if it was covered by insurance then at least the insurers would be helping to try and pressure the manufacturers to keep the costs down.

I know it doesn't help now but I would encourage you write your lawmakers. This is crazy

 

[robinb]

I am not effected but this really makes me mad. I think that Mylan CEO Heather Bresch needs to join PharmaBro (shall we call her Phama...W...itch?) in a long walk of Pharma-Greed shame. She raised the price of the EpiPen 400% while she earned herself a 671% raise over 9 years putting children at risk of death. They have cornered the market on this kind of delivery system and have jacked the price out of the reach of some families. It is absolutely shameful.

 

[Gigi22]

Do you live near Canada? If it's feasible to make a road trip across the border, the prices there are dramatically lower - less than half of what you quoted here - and even better, they are sold over the counter at most pharmacies without a prescription (Shopper's Drug is one example). Could be worth the journey...

Are you sure? We are in Canada, my DH had to get a prescription for his epi pen. Mind you, we never thought to ask for it OTC (actually from behind the counter). Partly because we have good insurance for prescriptions and if we went OTC, it would bypass our insurance and cost more, then we would have to submit the paperwork for coverage to get a refund. So, not worth it. The price has risen significantly in the past couple of years here too. When he got a prescription that expired too soon, my husband opened the packages before paying so he could see the expiry date, and if the expiry date was too close, he made the pharmacy give him something with a better expiry date!

 

[MomToOne]

If its a generic I think all you would need is to make sure your doctor doesn't check "dispense as written" on your epi-pen Rx.
I think I'm going to call ds' allergist tomorrow to see if he can write a new Rx. I did check good Rx and Walmart and Sams have it for $141, but other places are higher. The cash price is listed as $453 but its $353 with coupon at CVS where I normally go. I will be calling Walmart to see if they have it in stock.
Hope you can find it near you as well.

Based on what I've read, you need a different prescription for Adrenaclick. Admittedly I just googled, but several sites said the same thing. It is considered a different medication requiring a different prescription. There were also references to the directions for use being different, but no details were given.

Here's one article: http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/can-you-get-a-cheaper-epipen/

 

[Hikergirl]

Based on what I've read, you need a different prescription for Adrenaclick. Admittedly I just googled, but several sites said the same thing. It is considered a different medication requiring a different prescription. There were also references to the directions for use being different, but no details were given.

Here's one article: http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/can-you-get-a-cheaper-epipen/

Thanks, important info for everyone to know.

 

[kitkat4622]

I am not effected but this really makes me mad. I think that Mylan CEO Heather Bresch needs to join PharmaBro (shall we call her Phama...W...itch?) in a long walk of Pharma-Greed shame. She raised the price of the EpiPen 400% while she earned herself a 671% raise over 9 years putting children at risk of death. They have cornered the market on this kind of delivery system and have jacked the price out of the reach of some families. It is absolutely shameful.

I totally agree this is shameful price gouging at it's finest and for the poster with the high deductible plan you can blame Obama care for that. People are paying higher premiums, higher out of pocket costs for a lower quality of service and they have to decide between taking care of their health or buying food for their families. it's totally disgusting that pharmaceutical companies can basically do whatever they want and claim "research cost, and everything else" I heard it actually cost approximately $1.00 per dose for the pharmaceutical company to manufacture epi pens this was on the nightly news with Lester Holt yesterday. truly disgusting, I don't know how these CEO's sleep at night.