Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group
Crohn's disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract. There is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease, but there are many medical...
So my son just started Remicade 10 days ago.... the first bill just hit my insurance. $5500.00!! Seriously!! So my insurance takes a discount which brings it down to $3900 then my share is $435. I mean, ok, if this is what it takes for my son to be well then of course I will find the money. I'm just completely shocked. All told we have run up over $60,000 in medical charges (my share has been $6000) since January 1. With costs like this maybe it's not so fair to blame our horrible medical system all on the insurance companies....... I just needed to vent. Wow.
AdventureEvryDay
Keep in mind that these bills are tax deductible if they add up to 10% or more of your yearly gross income ( not positive on the 10% but I know it is right around there). That includes motel bills, mileage, medications any cost associated with the treatment, even the cost of food that your son has to eat because of his condition. I know this is no help to your son but I do know what a financial drain these diseases can be. Good luck to you and I hope your son feels better soon. Happy Mothers Day, have a great weekend. Charlie
MTM999
There is a discount program call Remistart. It really knocks down the cost. You should check in to that and see if you qualify.
deleted_user
When I was on remicade. I got on Remistart and they paid a lot of my remicade bills. I even had good insurance and we had a good income as well. Ask your sons GI doctor about it. It is worth it!
deleted_user
Wow, I am so thankful for this support site! I was unaware of the Remistart program! I was on remicade and actually quit it because of the cost. I just did on online search for "remistart" and all the info needed pops up on the first search result! Thank you so much for asking that question and for all of you who replied!
deleted_user
Its the terrible the cost of Remicade, I was on Remicade and didnt pay a penny for it, I live in Canada and had it in the hospital and was FREE. Its terrible to pay for that because sometimes you are too sick to work but have to pay medical bills :(
deleted_user
I wrote my hospital to gripe about the same thing and noted to the CEO that fixing our healthcare doesn't come from the government, it comes from the people in charge being responsible and reasonable about costs of care. I asked for itemized bills and went through and pointed out things like $250 for a bag of saline to start the Remicade IV and how ridiculous that is. They charged my $25 for benadryl when I had anaphylactic shock. I was just over the marker to not qualify for Remistart (though I should have because the financial aid office at the hospital looked at each bill individually, not as an accrued cost over time - more moronic policies - I ended up with $10,000 in medical costs on a $30k salary and "didn't qualify for financial aid" - really now? Charlie is right - I think the number is 7.5% but save those bills and receipts for tax purposes. It is maddening isn't it? Ugh.
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