(The More You Know)
My husband was recently diagnosed with cirrhosis, and in order to keep blood ammonia levels down (causes hepatic encephalopathy), the doctor prescribed Xifaxan in addition to lactolose. It is interesting that both drugs work on the same issue in very different ways - lactulose is a laxative, which pulls the ammonia produced by gut bacteria out of the gut, and Xifaxan is a non-absorbed antibiotic that kills the ammonia-producing bacteria in the gut.
The issue is that Xifaxan is a Tier 5 specialty drug on his Medicare Part D formulary: our cost is over $1000/month. He started out on samples from the doctor, but getting the script was something he was resisting because of the cost.
So, we applied to the manufacturer (Bausch owns them) under their patient assistance program, and just found out that Bausch is going to be sending him the medication for free (I think).
Consider doing this if you are struggling with medication costs.
Interestingly, those GoodRx-type cards often say they don’t work if you’re on certain types of insurance, including Medicare, but if you ask for help directly from the manufacturer, they can help.
My husband was recently diagnosed with cirrhosis, and in order to keep blood ammonia levels down (causes hepatic encephalopathy), the doctor prescribed Xifaxan in addition to lactolose. It is interesting that both drugs work on the same issue in very different ways - lactulose is a laxative, which pulls the ammonia produced by gut bacteria out of the gut, and Xifaxan is a non-absorbed antibiotic that kills the ammonia-producing bacteria in the gut.
The issue is that Xifaxan is a Tier 5 specialty drug on his Medicare Part D formulary: our cost is over $1000/month. He started out on samples from the doctor, but getting the script was something he was resisting because of the cost.
So, we applied to the manufacturer (Bausch owns them) under their patient assistance program, and just found out that Bausch is going to be sending him the medication for free (I think).
Consider doing this if you are struggling with medication costs.
Interestingly, those GoodRx-type cards often say they don’t work if you’re on certain types of insurance, including Medicare, but if you ask for help directly from the manufacturer, they can help.
