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Hi. Just looking for anyone that happens to be on Remicade or any other brand of infliximab. I may have to start this medication right away and just looking for experiences with the drug and any costs associated with it. Any information would be greatly appreciated I'm a little anxious about starting a biologic and how much it's going to hurt my wallet.  
 
Edited by tryharder, 2021-10-29 07:15:19

My husband has been on this for years . We are very lucky and have insurance to pay for the first does until we reach our deductible. My husband has crohns and because of this drug it is in remission .

Does he go to that Innomar Clinic for the infusion? And do you know if they take appointments on weekends? Apparently these treatments take two or three hours each time

Your first few treatments take longer. You can receive this drug at the clinic or at OCU at the hospital. Not sure about the clinic but OCU has appointments available on the weekend. Good luck  
 
Edited by 2021, 2021-10-29 09:13:35

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond

I get mine at the innomar clinic I believe they are only open 3 days a week all weekdays. It had helped me tremendously. I have insurance pay 80% until I reach my deductible. My treatments if I had no insurance are $3000 each. believe that Pfizer has a program to help pay for the treatments if you are unable. They go over that before your first treatment usually but it’s a little scattered as to many people call and email to keep it straight The treatment is usually 2hrs plus you have an observation period after that for 1hr which You can opt out of after the second treatment. I go for treatments at 9am and am usually at work just after 12. I wish all the best to your health.

Thank you very much for all this info. My insurance covers 70% which would leave me around$1000 per treatment owing out of my pocket I suppose. Definitely a financial burden. How do they decide who qualifies for assistance or not? An income assessment?

You may have to inquire with them. I had them contact me prior to setting up appointment asking about payments. Not sure how to get ahold of them though. You could try asking your doctor or the people booking your appointment.

Don't Pay  
Tell Abicare or whoever their agent is that you are not going to take it if you have to pay anything. They will cover all the cost after insurance until your pahamacare deductable kicks in.  
They will not want to lose a customer.  
Thats what I did. never paid a dime!!  
 
Edited by DGG, 2021-10-31 11:50:05

Thanks for all the information.. This eases my mind a bit. Didn't really want this kind of financial burden at Christmas time

I have been getting these infusions every 8 weeks at the hospital (outpatient services) for the past four years to treat my Crohn's. The Innomar pharmacy sends my medication directly to the hospital. As someone else posted, after a few treatments with no issues, they are able to speed up the process of both the infliximab infusion as well as the flush afterwards if you so choose to get that. I now get the infliximab over 2 hours and the flush over 30 minutes, but the flush is voluntary.  
 
With regards to the financial cost, Pfizer has a team of reimbursement specialists for financial specialized support (Pfizer Flex Program) through their Innomar pharmacy. They reached out to me prior to my first infusion to arrange how the costs were going to be covered between insurance, pharmacare deductible and what the Pfizer Flex Program will eat themselves. They also then reach out to me on a periodic basis (has happened to me a couple of times in the past 4 years) to go back through the financial aspects.  
 
I have a team of direct contacts including a nurse, a reimbursement specialist, and an administration person, but you should be able to get someone to talk to you about your various questions by reaching out to their generic email account: inflectra@pfizerflex.com

Thank you so much. This is really helpful