Is Keppra getting even more expensive or is it just me?

[travel bug]

I got my Keppra refill earlier this week and it had gone up $50. Yikes! Is it like this everywhere??? I do, very thankfully, have insurance, but it will be a while before I meet my deductible.

I talked to my pharmacist again about starting generic Keppra because there's finally enough difference in price to make it worth the risk. She suggested getting the generic a little early and start by taking one regular Keppra and one generic a day to make the transition a little smoother.

Has anyone else been hit with sticker-shock? If so, has it influenced you to change meds?

[huskymom]

don't worry, it's not just you....it is getting more expensive. I am lucky as we don't have to meet a deductible, we just have to use a mail order service

[dfwtexas]

Sounds like it may be a change in your insurance. My copay is $35 and my insurance company can't change that until we renew our plan next year.

[knewton1801]

Yes! There are ways around it, depending on your insurance company. The company I currently have is CVS-Caremark, part of retired Texas teachers. To keep cost down to the minimum, I have to do do 2 things.

First, I must use the mail-order program or use the one pharmacy here in Denton which is authorized to give best pricing on walk-in (since you are in Texas, my choice is Brookshire's in Denton. Yours will be listed in your insurance handbook.)

Second, the Keppra prescription must be faxed in with a form entitled, "TRS-Care Appeal Form to Use a Brand-Name Medicine" completed and signed by your doctor. This procedure must be followed every time the prescription is renewed. I have a pdf copy of the form if you send me an email link that I can forward it to.

As a result of the expense, I am slowly transferring to substituting lamictal/lamotrigine. This substitution has come with surprises. The most recent is awaking in an an ambulance in front of Love Field terminal when my last recollection was having boarded the plane, being seated, and having begun my lastest book. Then I found myself entering Presbyterian Hospital (Dallas) in my sweats and floppy socks. I'm hanging in there, but beginning to feel my life closing in, I can't drive for the safety of others, I can't go into my own backyard for fear of drowning, and now I am afraid to fly. While in the hospital, the doctor added an anti-depressive. If someone would have warned me that a brain injury could result in this, I am not sure I would have opted to have been saved from drowning this past summer.

My husband is a blessing, medically knowledgeable and able to describe to my neurologist the types and behaviors associated with my seizures.

I hope the appeal info is helpful to you. Kathy

[momof3boys]

Im on Keppra XR. I was put on that in November 2010. before I was on Keppra, and was paying $150 for a six month supply. But since they switched me to the Keppra XR, they also gave me a Keppra Prescription Savings Card. It only costs $100 for a six month supply, and then I save $30 with the card, so it only costs me $70 for a six month supply. I got my prescription filled in November, so the next time I will be getting it filled would be in April or May. As far as how I get my medications filled, I just go to our local Wal-Greens and they fill it for me there. We have a prescription plan, so it doesnt affect if my deductable is met or not.

[travel bug]

It sounds like you all have good prescription plans. I would maybe think about changing my coverage, but I really don't want to rock the boat at all with my insurance company. So far they have been really good about covering everything I've needed, including things like a PET scan that I've heard some companies balk at. And once I meet my deductible they reimburse me for 70%of the cost of my prescriptions, and if/when I meet a stop-loss they reimburse me for 100%. The last couple of years I had so much going on medically that I met both my deductible and stop-loss early in the year. Brain surgery will do that

I just wonder why the cost goes up so much, or at least how they justify it. I understand why it costs so much initially-I know research and development are expensive. But once it's been on the market for years I don't understand why the rise in cost is so far beyond regular inflation. Oh well, I'm not the first to ask such questions and I'm sure not the last.


Kathy,
I'm sorry the lamictal switch has been so difficult. But do as you say and hang in there! I understand about feeling that things are closing in on you. When you can't drive yourself and have to rely on others you feel like you've lost your independence-or at least I do.Take care!