Go to Rebif's web site. Most of the CRAB drugs have programs to assist you, based on your income.

Good luck to you!

Would these be of help? Most thing like that a person has to apply to find out.

http://www.cdfund.org/Patient/patient1.aspx

I'm sorry about that last link, I just read the page and it is closed to new patients for MS.

How about this one on the nmss.org site:Needymeds

http://www.needymeds.org/copay_diseases.taf?_function=summary&disease_eng=Multiple%20Sclerosis


http://www.needymeds.org/resourcepages/ms.shtml

DID YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY GIVE A REASON FOR THE CO-PAY GOING SO HIGH? DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE NEW HEALTH CARE REFORM? YOU HAVE GOV INSURANCE AS AN EX-POSTAL EMPLOYEE?

Contact MSLifelines. Talk to a counselor there. They ahve many programs, abut they will also talk to your insurer and find out why the increase was made. When I was first dxd, Rebif was not a prefered on the list, and they did not want to cover it. MSLifelines did whatever they do, and I got some forms, filled them out, and my insurance company called to inform me that my co-pay would be $40 per month. I am curious, is this across the board with Federal insurance? Can they just change it anytime? Don't they have an enrollment period just like others?

My insurance premiums have gone up for the past two years (to more than $500 a month), ever since I was diagnosed. This year, my copays for my drugs doubled. Rebif went from $35 to $50, and my migraine med went from $35 to $80. I had to switch migraine meds to generic Imitrex, which doesn't work as well for me. I begged my doctor for samples, and I'm almost through them already.

Gotta love insurance. They charge you a ton, then when you get sick, they jack up your rates. I know they do this because they are trying to:

a. Shift more of the cost onto the sick patient, and...

b. Slowly force us off their rolls by making it too expensive.

Insurance is such a nightmare, yet a necessary evil. My husband and I both have private pay individual plans because we're both self employed. It costs more than the payment on our 3000 square foot house. I wish the public option would be an OPTION!

Definitely call MS Lifelines and your local chapter of NMSS. You should also probably call your doctor and let them know what happened. They might have some knowledge about help as well.

Two words about insurance:

"FOR PROFIT"

reply #8

Short, sweet, and so very true.

I was at an MS dinner last night, my doctor was one of the speakers, and someone asked why we hear all this about new "treatments," new drugs, things for symptoms...and yet nothing new about a cure. She said very simply that more, much more money is needed for research that is not funded by the drug companies...they have no interest in a cure, it makes them no money.

She went on to say that the most interestsing research to her is that that many are doing on their own, which is looking for the connections in what works in the meds that are being developed, and what insight that gives to the ways and whys of MS. She also reinterated that she is very appreciative of her patients that are out here everyday living with MS and looking for answers. She said that the people living with MS have to get active and make a cure as much of a patient driven issue as a cure for each problem that comes up. As an example, the oral meds are something market research demanded and suggested would make googobs of money. She suggested that every survey we hear of, we respond that our number one concern is a CURE, not something for better balance. It will not get it done, but it will also not give them justification to blow lots of dollars to develope someting the MS community is "clamoring for."