The company that gave me the financial assistance for Letairis is called the Caring Voice Coalition and may be found at http://caringvoice.org I thought it was called Caring Hands. My apologies.
According to Jean Sommers, Financial Team Lead, at the website, I will automatically be approved for financial assistance for Letairis in 2009. If I had been approved before Sept., I would have had to apply again. I sure hope that is how it works. It will be very nice not to have to worry about Letairis next year. Caring Voice was established in 2003. They offer financial assistance, education and caregiver support. I cannot say too many times, how grateful I am to them.
It is not just Letairis that is so expensive. Most of the treatments for pulmonary hypertension range from $30,00 to $150,000 per year. I am so happy I don’t have to go on Flolan as yet, if at all.
Flolan is administered through a permanent catheter placed in a vein in the neck or chest. It only lasts 3 to 5 minutes so it has to be continuously infused. A portable, battery-operated pump is worn attached to a belt around the waist or carried in a shoulder pack. It costs about $100,000 per year and as you can see, is very complex to administer. Home health care aids help patients maintain and administer the drug. Infections can be serious. Interruption of Flolan can be life-threatening. Side effects can include jaw pain, headache, flushing, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. As with Letairis, Flolan can increase a patient’s life expectancy. So, you can see why I am so grateful for a treatment given in pill form versus a treatment so invasive as Flolan.
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2 comments:
Wow Dee Dee, seriously, praise the Lord for pill form! I guess you're just grateful for anything that can have a positive effect, but what a drag it would be to have to carry around a machine all the time. So glad for you. And what a relief about not having to apply again! Two wins here.
I am also glad to hear you don't have to use the Flolan option. That would be such a pain for you to deal with. I give kudos to the medical community for the advancements they make every day. It is just a shame that in-between the researchers and the patient there is the beuracratic middleman who takes more than his fair share!
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