Under rules in the No Surprises Act, insured patients people in the U.S., including those with multiple sclerosis, should no longer receive unexpected medical bills for emergency care or for treatment from out-of-network providers at facilities in their network. The act, which became effective on Jan. 1, prohibits…

The high cost of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS), and the challenging process of insurance approval, lead to treatment gaps or alterations, increased symptoms, and sacrifices in lifestyle, a survey from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) shows. “People with MS are paying the price, not…

Out-of-pocket costs for medications treating neurological diseases have skyrocketed over the last 12 years in the U.S., with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, especially, paying 20 times more in 2016 than they were in 2004, a study reported. “Given the high costs of…

I get my medications the old-fashioned way. When I need to fill a prescription, I either go to the drug store or use a mail-order pharmacy — and usually, I have a copay. Sometimes the copay is just a few dollars, but sometimes it can be a few hundred.

Improving financial support programs for those living with multiple sclerosis (MS) would increase workforce participation and boost economic activity, concluded a report published by the Conference Board of Canada in March, which was Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. Today, about 100,000 Canadians live with MS, making Canada one of…

You know about credit cards that offer you cash back for the items you buy. How about getting cash back for selecting specific healthcare service providers for things like medical tests and lab work? Go to your insurance company’s website, then enter your zip code and the service…

Have you been in this Catch-22? You had great medical insurance when you were working. But, you’re not working anymore. Your insurance now comes with a $6,000 deductible and it doesn’t cover any medications. That $6,000 is about a fifth of your yearly income. You took early retirement because of…

  By now, I had planned to give you an update on my current multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). But one thing living with multiple sclerosis teaches us is to not count on plans always working out as we had hoped. Timing really is everything…

IMPAQ Health has created a calculator that will help New York State residents compare the cost of hundreds of health insurance plans. The NYPlanCosts Calculator should be particularly beneficial to people with one of eight chronic conditions — multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, hepatitis C, diabetes, HIV, schizophrenia, breast cancer and…

In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week: Ocrevus Is Popular Among Neurologists, but Insurance Is a Growing Concern, Report Concludes Some great marketing and PR efforts gave Ocrevus a…

Ocrevus' market introduction is off to a stellar start, with nearly half of neurologists surveyed by Spherix Global Insights saying they are using the therapy — the first ever approved for both relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Within six months, 80 percent of neurologists are expected to prescribe Ocrevus, according to a report in the second-quarter edition of RealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis by Spherix Global Insights. But insurance is having an increasing impact on treatment decisions, the report also found, according to a Spherix press release. More patients are receiving less than optimal care because of inadequate or inferior insurance coverage, and neurologists report that insurers have become more aggressive in managing MS patients. Surveying 104 neurologists in June, the report showed that physicians followed through with their intent — reported in earlier surveys — to prescribe Ocrevus as it became available. With Ocrevus being the first approved drug for primary progressive MS, these patients make up a sizable part of those receiving it. But patients with relapsing forms of MS represent more than half of new users, according to the report. Ocrevus was also, by far, the drug that neurologists had learned most about, and felt most excited about using, the report added. Most of the patients on Ocrevus were switched from Biogen's Tysabri or Rituxan — a drug that, like Ocrevus, is also produced by Genentech/Roche. One in five patients was switched from an oral disease-modifying treatment, mainly Biogen’s Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate). But for about 25 percent of Ocrevus-treated patients, the drug is the first disease-modifying therapy they have received. The survey also revealed that patients are the driving force behind new Ocrevus prescriptions. Seventy-one percent of neurologists receive requests from patients who want to start the treatment. While neurologists have to turn some of these requests down for various reasons, a large proportion of those who ask for the treatment receive it. Another insight from Spherix’s “RealWorld Dynamix: DMT Brand Switching in MS” survey was that patients' requests for a specific brand are often honored. Seventy-seven percent were prescribed the brand they requested, the survey showed. Interestingly, neurologists believed the number to be lower. Most patients who made a specific request, the report indicated, asked for Tecfidera in the past year and a half. Tecfidera is by far the leading oral disease-modifying drug prescribed in MS. Meanwhile, according to the report, Biogen's Avonex, Bayer's Betaseron, Teva's Copaxone, and EMD Serono's Rebif continue on a downward path. At least 30 percent of neurologists report lower use of these therapies in the past three months. Patients previously on these drugs are mainly switched to oral disease-modifying drugs. But this trend is projected to slow, with only Sanofi-Genzyme's oral Aubagio (teriflunomide) continuing to grow. But the choice of treatment may increasingly be driven by insurance. Compared with the same quarter of 2016 — when neurologists estimated that 14 percent of patients received suboptimal treatment because of poor insurance coverage — 20 percent of patients are now judged to be in this situation. Also, 60 percent of surveyed physicians feel that insurance companies have become more aggressive in MS treatment management. A similar percentage also say that insurance policies influence how they prescribe specific disease-modifying drugs.

A multiple sclerosis (MS) trial now underway in Colorado is assessing the safety and tolerability of switching from Rituxan (rituximab) to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and its lead investigator, Dr. Timothy L. Vollmer, largely expects no problems. The neurologist believes the two Genentech therapies — both antibody-based drugs that target the CD20 molecule on B-cells —…

Pamela Arterbridge noticed something was wrong back in 2013 when she woke up one morning, and her legs and feet were tingling. Two years later, Lorraine Lee knew she had a problem when her right leg became extremely fatigued after every workout. Neither realized their eventual diagnosis would be multiple…

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…

Have you ever used acupuncture?  I have a number of times and would do so more often if it were a medical service covered by my insurance. Unfortunately, for now, most complementary treatments we have available to help with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are not covered by commercial insurance. In…

Carol Hardaway was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1990. After years of enduring relapses that brought episodes of complete blindness, numbness, tingling, debilitating fatigue, and short-term memory loss, the longtime resident of Texas — a state which offers Medicaid only to specific categories like low-income families, pregnant women, and…

It’s that time of the year. Drug insurance companies in the U.S. are making changes to their formularies — the list of drugs that your insurance company will pay for. Those formularies change from year to year so you need to be alert to changes that may impact your…