New here with insurance frustrations!

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone, my name is Janet. I received my first Xolair injection on 9/28/05

and it has been a godsend. 4 years without hives is a record and that's been 4

years without any significant prednisone use, which is a very, very good thing.

My asthma has been relatively well controlled with meds all along, but my usual

twice yearly bronchitis episodes seem to be minor or a thing of the past.

The insurance company that I had from my first injection until the March,

charged me a $20 copay every 2 months. Good deal! The insurance I had from

March 2009-June 30 2009 required NO copay - even better! Somehow, I wound up

with new insurance as of 7/1 that now has me paying 10%. Since I'm on the

highest dosage every 2 weeks (I get 2.5 injections), this is a bit painful. I

got the Xolair debit card, which will help some, but ouch! The injection pain

(depends on who gives it) is nothing compared to the pain to my wallet.

I've been confused about the exact cost of Xolair, as I was under the impression

that it was <$20K a year, but it appears that it is much higher. My most recent

insurance claim from Accredo was for $4214 which they said was a month's supply.

Can that be right? $50K a year?!?!?!

Looking forward to finding answers, hearing stories, and hopefully staying on

Xolair!