1. A.etna offers a program for first time I.VFers - eSET, elective single embryo transfer. Since I qualify (under 35, good egg quality, etc) and if I decide to put back one embryo rather than two and as long as I have another good embryo to freeze, if I don't get pregnant that first cycle, they will pay for the costs to do a FET the following cycle. Basically it's a fresh cycle and a fet cycle for the price of one fresh cycle. So that is something we are thinking about. Obviously it also depends on whether or not we have good embryos and have any to freeze. I think it's not something we would decide until the morning of the transfer.
2. So as I mentioned in my previous post, my $10K lifetime max doesn't include cost of medication, which is great. My plan doesn't cover all the meds, but it does cover some of them at 50% off - which is wonderful! Also since I work at a hospital, we get a little extra discount for using the hospital pharmacy. (ex: whereas a normal prescription would be $10 or $15, if I get it at the hospital pharmacy, it would be $2 or $4.) Although I'm not sure what cycle I'm doing, my RE office did give me prescriptions for an I.UI so if I need to do it quickly, I can. So since I'm up in the air about my status, I decided to go over to the pharmacy to see how much it would be to get it filled. So I hand the script to the woman and she tells me she is going to look it up. A few minutes go by and she tells me to come into the back. I've worked with the pharmacist there on a few projects so I know her. They tell me to sit down. Now I have NO idea what's going on. She asks me how much I thought I was going to spend on this drug (G.onal-F 450ml multi-use kit - I was getting three of them.) I said I expected the cost to be about $500 per box/kit. With the 50%, I was expecting to pay at least $750. The pharmacist said, "Well it's less than that. I'm going to want the difference." and laughed. Then she told me that it was ..... ready for this .....
Yes ...TWO CENTS. TWO PENNIES. TWO PENNIES!!!!! FOR THREE KITS!!!!! I sat there with my mouth WIDE open and I actually think I teared up a bit. I was in complete shock! The two women sat there smiling at me and kept laughing to each other "She's in shock" I asked how was this possible. Apparently drug manufacturers have contracts with hospitals and every month they run "specials" on different types of meds. This month it happened to be G.onal-F. She said that next month, it could be $400 dollars a kit. I still can't believe it. (They were actually 1/2 a penny a kit, so they rounded it up to 2 cents.) So obviously I got it filled and I will get the rest of the refills filled this month (that will be 6 boxes) and if I don't use them for an I.UI or the I.VF has me on different meds, I'm going to give them away to a fellow IFer who doesn't have any insurance. I'm sure the RE office will take them and give them away for me, right? (I don't know the legal issues with giving away drugs) I'm kind of hoping that I can donate them to someone who really needs it. I'm lucky enough to have insurance and have some treatments covered. It will be like paying it forward. Maybe someone (god??) will pay it forward to me with a baby!
2. So as I mentioned in my previous post, my $10K lifetime max doesn't include cost of medication, which is great. My plan doesn't cover all the meds, but it does cover some of them at 50% off - which is wonderful! Also since I work at a hospital, we get a little extra discount for using the hospital pharmacy. (ex: whereas a normal prescription would be $10 or $15, if I get it at the hospital pharmacy, it would be $2 or $4.) Although I'm not sure what cycle I'm doing, my RE office did give me prescriptions for an I.UI so if I need to do it quickly, I can. So since I'm up in the air about my status, I decided to go over to the pharmacy to see how much it would be to get it filled. So I hand the script to the woman and she tells me she is going to look it up. A few minutes go by and she tells me to come into the back. I've worked with the pharmacist there on a few projects so I know her. They tell me to sit down. Now I have NO idea what's going on. She asks me how much I thought I was going to spend on this drug (G.onal-F 450ml multi-use kit - I was getting three of them.) I said I expected the cost to be about $500 per box/kit. With the 50%, I was expecting to pay at least $750. The pharmacist said, "Well it's less than that. I'm going to want the difference." and laughed. Then she told me that it was ..... ready for this .....
Yes ...TWO CENTS. TWO PENNIES. TWO PENNIES!!!!! FOR THREE KITS!!!!! I sat there with my mouth WIDE open and I actually think I teared up a bit. I was in complete shock! The two women sat there smiling at me and kept laughing to each other "She's in shock" I asked how was this possible. Apparently drug manufacturers have contracts with hospitals and every month they run "specials" on different types of meds. This month it happened to be G.onal-F. She said that next month, it could be $400 dollars a kit. I still can't believe it. (They were actually 1/2 a penny a kit, so they rounded it up to 2 cents.) So obviously I got it filled and I will get the rest of the refills filled this month (that will be 6 boxes) and if I don't use them for an I.UI or the I.VF has me on different meds, I'm going to give them away to a fellow IFer who doesn't have any insurance. I'm sure the RE office will take them and give them away for me, right? (I don't know the legal issues with giving away drugs) I'm kind of hoping that I can donate them to someone who really needs it. I'm lucky enough to have insurance and have some treatments covered. It will be like paying it forward. Maybe someone (god??) will pay it forward to me with a baby!
Totally awesome 'meant to be' news! Really cool Kim!
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