becky62

Yes, I've been on the phone with my insurance company and the Cleveland Clinic where I received the drug.  The negotiated amount is $102,000 per infusion.  When I initially looked at the claim I thought it might have been for all 4 treatments, but htat's not the case.  I did not have  to get prior approval.  I'm thinking maybe it would be cheaper to go out of network.  Can anyone tell me if I can call other hospitals and ask what the price would be?  I'm thinking maybe going out of network would be cheaper.  I'm just at a loss as to what to do at this point.  I'm scheduled for my third infusion on Tuesday.  I have asked for an itemized bill and put an appeal on the claim.  Tomorrow I am going to get a case manager at the insurance company and talk to a financial counselor at the clinic. I should have done all this at the time of diagnosis.  I did ask my oncologist at the time we agreed to go ahead with the yervoy if what I was reading at the time of around $30,000 was correct and he said he didn't know, but was probably in line with other drugs in that category of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands of dollars.   

Yes, I've been on the phone with my insurance company and the Cleveland Clinic where I received the drug.  The negotiated amount is $102,000 per infusion.  When I initially looked at the claim I thought it might have been for all 4 treatments, but htat's not the case.  I did not have  to get prior approval.  I'm thinking maybe it would be cheaper to go out of network.  Can anyone tell me if I can call other hospitals and ask what the price would be?  I'm thinking maybe going out of network would be cheaper.  I'm just at a loss as to what to do at this point.  I'm scheduled for my third infusion on Tuesday.  I have asked for an itemized bill and put an appeal on the claim.  Tomorrow I am going to get a case manager at the insurance company and talk to a financial counselor at the clinic. I should have done all this at the time of diagnosis.  I did ask my oncologist at the time we agreed to go ahead with the yervoy if what I was reading at the time of around $30,000 was correct and he said he didn't know, but was probably in line with other drugs in that category of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands of dollars.   

Yes, I've been on the phone with my insurance company and the Cleveland Clinic where I received the drug.  The negotiated amount is $102,000 per infusion.  When I initially looked at the claim I thought it might have been for all 4 treatments, but htat's not the case.  I did not have  to get prior approval.  I'm thinking maybe it would be cheaper to go out of network.  Can anyone tell me if I can call other hospitals and ask what the price would be?  I'm thinking maybe going out of network would be cheaper.  I'm just at a loss as to what to do at this point.  I'm scheduled for my third infusion on Tuesday.  I have asked for an itemized bill and put an appeal on the claim.  Tomorrow I am going to get a case manager at the insurance company and talk to a financial counselor at the clinic. I should have done all this at the time of diagnosis.  I did ask my oncologist at the time we agreed to go ahead with the yervoy if what I was reading at the time of around $30,000 was correct and he said he didn't know, but was probably in line with other drugs in that category of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands of dollars.   

My oncologist is not a melanoma specialist.  His main area is digestive cancers, but he sees a lot of melanoma. This has been a cause of concern for me especially after reading this board.  He is very on top of the side effects of the Yervoy and I am seeing him every 2 weeks or so.  The diarrhea has been mild and Imodium has helped.  I don't think he has any intention of doing any biopsies on my lung or on any of the other subqs.  Does this sound reasonable?  I assume this is because they are not giving me any problem.  I probably should not assume anything.  I will see him tomorrow and will have a lot more questions.  I think I really need to see a melanoma specialist.  

My oncologist is not a melanoma specialist.  His main area is digestive cancers, but he sees a lot of melanoma. This has been a cause of concern for me especially after reading this board.  He is very on top of the side effects of the Yervoy and I am seeing him every 2 weeks or so.  The diarrhea has been mild and Imodium has helped.  I don't think he has any intention of doing any biopsies on my lung or on any of the other subqs.  Does this sound reasonable?  I assume this is because they are not giving me any problem.  I probably should not assume anything.  I will see him tomorrow and will have a lot more questions.  I think I really need to see a melanoma specialist.  

My oncologist is not a melanoma specialist.  His main area is digestive cancers, but he sees a lot of melanoma. This has been a cause of concern for me especially after reading this board.  He is very on top of the side effects of the Yervoy and I am seeing him every 2 weeks or so.  The diarrhea has been mild and Imodium has helped.  I don't think he has any intention of doing any biopsies on my lung or on any of the other subqs.  Does this sound reasonable?  I assume this is because they are not giving me any problem.  I probably should not assume anything.  I will see him tomorrow and will have a lot more questions.  I think I really need to see a melanoma specialist.