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December 26, 2014- New Beginnings

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11 Comments

Jeff Schwartz

Hi Linda Can you share the name of your compassionate doctor? We are trying to find someone who will be pro active and knows how to deal with the "paperwork" and politics of treatment and payment. Thanks, Jeff

January 18, 2015

Jeff Schwartz

Dear Kyle and other helpful folks, Thanks for the information. We have contracted Gilead and filled out the required paperwork. Kaiser may not issue a denial letter so we are not sure how to proceed with the Gilead Support Program. Has anyone figured out a way to reach the appropritate administrators in Kaiser and ask for treatment out of the usual Kaiser Network? Can anyone provide the name(s) of doctors that treat Hep C and are very compassionate advocates for their patients? I have read/heard that a pro active doctor/Hepatotlogist/Gastroenterologist can make a difference. Should we be seeing a Hepatologist, Internist or Gastroenterologist? Who is usally most qualified to treat Hep C? I am an old retired teacher who can still walk short distances, Is there any thing I can do to help the movement to get these new Hep C treatments out at a reasonsable cost to other folks who need treatment? Thanks for the help and encouragement. Jeff

January 18, 2015

deborah

TO JEFF SCHWARTZ - POSTED BY LUCINDA, ANOTHER BLOGGER AT HEPMAG: I found a new doctor who loves his patients (rich and poor alike) and wanted to help me get treatment. I saw him on Oct.16. I will be his first Harvoni patient. He believes it is a "medical necessity" for all HCV patients to get treatment with the new safe and effective medicines. My doctor called in the prescription to my pharmacy. My insurance company said they would not cover the medicine. I called my insurance company. They told me my doctor was required to submit evidence for a pre-authorization. I called my doctor's office and told them this. They told me they knew and were working on it. I then called Gilead (855-769-7284) and enrolled in their prescription assistance program (Gilead Support Path). They instructed me to download their form and fill it out. I downloaded the form, filled everything out that I could (I even filled in the prescription (Harvoni) and dosage). All that was left for me to do was have the doctor complete the form (sign his name and give his ID numbers). On Nov. 4, I gave the form to my doctor and he was more than happy to sign it. On Nov. 5, my doctor's office faxed the form (with supporting documentation of my poverty and my lab results that indicated my viral load) to Gilead. My doctor was then required to have a "peer to peer" discussion with the insurance company's medical doctor that denied the request, and the insurance MD once again said, "no." On Nov. 26th, I received a phone call from my doctor's office telling me that Gilead would be sending me the medicine and had approved 6 months of treatment. FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE COVERED BY INSURANCE BUT CAN'T AFFORD THE COPAY, contact the Patient Access Network.

January 16, 2015

Deborah

Hi Kyle, got my first lab results tonight. UNDETECTABLE at 3 weeks! I am now at 5 weeks, so juat 3 more weeks to go and then DONE! And to Jeff, there is a mail order prescription service called Ellwyn. They are really great and they use drug company coupons to defray some cost. Best of luck to you and your wife!

January 16, 2015

Meredith Pruitt

Do contact Support Path. I was told that if I sent them my husband's denial letter from our health plan and a denial letter after an appeal that they would help us. Surprisingly after being denied for many other treatments, when our doctor submitted to request, our health plan approved it. Keep on trying!

January 7, 2015

Kyle Jacobs

Best wishes today for you Deborah!

January 5, 2015

Kyle Jacobs

Jeff, That's a good question for the Hep Forum - http://forums.hepmag.com/. Another thought I had while thinking about your posting was perhaps reaching out to one or all of the patient assistance programs for the drugs that you listed to see if they can be of assistance. For Harvoni as an example, the website for the Support Path Program claims to have "a call center staffed with associates trained to help patients and their providers with insurance-related needs." Additionally, the website also states "the Support Path Patient Assistance Program will provide Sovaldi and Harvoni at no charge for eligible patients with no other insurance options." I am sure that the other drug companies offer similar options.

January 5, 2015

Jeff Schwartz

HELP, A PLEA FROM AN IGNORANT RETIRED TEACHER, My wife is 62 and was diagnosed with Hep C genotype 1b in May 2014 a week after she had retired. She is NOW Stage 3 and her liver enzymes are abnormal as is her liver and she had worse fatigue, headaches, nausea, eye infections, nausea sometimes no appetite, skin and eye problems and depression. Kaiser is her health provider and has told her she is "not sick enough" to be considered for treatment, even though she has a family history and pre-diposition to liver cirrhosis/liver cancer! Ok, Can Kyle or any other compassionate soul out there tell me of a good caring doctor who is allowed to prescribe Solvaldi, Harvoni, VieKira Pak, or ABT-450r+Abt-333+ABT-267 and will accept my cash to treat my wife. I have a small pension/savings, and will take a 2nd or 3rd mortgage on the house to raise the cash to pay out of pocked. I am not gonna let economists and bean counters contribute to my wifes' demise. Jeff

January 5, 2015

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