Patients’ underestimation of their own disease and the cost and side effects of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are among the main causes of delayed treatment initiation and non-adherence in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a report from OptimizeRx. These findings help uncover areas for improvement, which the health…
drug costs
MS Patients Should Avoid ‘Silver’ Tooth Fillings Due to Mercury, FDA Advises Concerns about the possible danger of amalgam dental fillings have been floated for years. Several European countries already have banned their use in certain cases. Now, regulators in the U.S. have taken a small step in that…
Here in the U.S., the price we pay for medications is complicated. The usual process is for a pharmaceutical company to set a high price for a medication when it first hits the market. But, like buying a car, that “sticker” price is negotiable. Health plans use pharmaceutical benefit…
If you have MS, you’ve probably used a specialty drug. My first was Avonex, which I began to use about 1998. Several others followed. There’s no formal definition of a specialty drug, but these therapies have several things in common. First, they’re expensive. According to the vice president in…
Insurance companies want people to use generics, rather than the more expensive brand-name drugs, right? Maybe not. Because, at least in some cases, they’re doing just the opposite. Some patients are being forced to use brand-name drugs even when those drugs have generic equivalents. Not surprisingly, that means…
With last month’s approval of the multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, I’ve again heard the plea “But how can I afford it?” Ocrevus carries a price tag of about $65,000 a year. That’s not high compared to some other MS drugs, but it still can mean a higher…
I don’t think this will surprise you. Multiple sclerosis drugs, some of the most expensive drugs there are, are getting even more expensive. Drug industry analyst Eric Schmidt, quoted in the Boston Business Journal, reported that Biogen began the new year by upping the price of Tecfidera,…
“… in 3 years we went from living decent not rich to poverty and will prob have no utilities soon and maybe homeless.” An MS patient wrote that after I posted Part I of this column a few days ago. “I went threw (sic) all of our savings…
Columns
Would You Fund My MS Treatment?
I’m not asking for your money. (At least not yet.)  But I’ve recently seen a lot of news stories about MS patients who are. Multiple sclerosis battler fights for $200,000 treatment Or… Fundraiser for Deanna Or… Burbage dad’s £50,000 appeal to…