4 ms·

I did a little bit of research and for people in the UK it appears to be substantially less. I found a few health companies offering it for <$250/mo. I’ll proba

I did a little bit of research and for people in the UK it appears to be substantially less. I found a few health companies offering it for <$250/mo. I’ll probably wait until it’s readily available on the NHS but it is tempting.

onionisafruit 4y ago
My US doctor recommended it to me last week and said there was a way for it to cost about $200/mo if I want to do that. I thought it was strange that he said it that way instead of just saying the price, but I didn't follow up because we were 45 minutes into the appointment and I was ready to get out of there. I'm supposed to book a follow up appointment after I've read about it, so I guess I'll find out what he means then.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  Pretty much every expensive medication has a copay assistance program in the US. For trirzepatide: https://www.mounjaro.com/hcp/savings-resources https://www.mounjaro.com/hcp/savings-resources They typically are income blind and make your out-of-pocket price negligible. I'm on a med (Skyrizi) that's $18k per shot, one every three months; their assistance program ensures I don't pay more than $5. They chip in on the deductible/coinsurance/copay, you don't skip the medication due to cost, and they still get significant money out of your insurer. Everybody wins, until everyone's premiums go up next year.
  - thinkmcfly 4y ago
    Goddamn your healthcare system is fucked up.
    - strombofulous 4y ago
      Is it? Isn't this exactly the outcome you'd hope for? Individual consumers pay basically nothing and companies are still incentivized to innovate and create new medicines
      - ceejayoz 4y ago
        Individual consumers aren’t paying nothing. The cost is just being hidden from them so they don’t flip over the tables. They pay via premiums - mine went up to $2,792/month this year - or if their employer pays those, via the resulting wage impact. And, as a result, we spend 2-3x what the rest of the OECD spends on healthcare - public and private spending - with roughly the same health outcomes.
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      Agreed. Injecting a milliliter of fluid worth as much as a new car makes me twitchy.
- giaour 4y ago
  Your doc was probably referring to purchasing semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy, which is usually in the $200/month range (depending on dose). Compounded versions don't typically come in the user friendly "injection pen" format that brand name versions do, so not everybody is comfortable with that option.
  - onionisafruit 4y ago
    Interesting. For an $800/mo savings, I can get real comfortable self administering an old-fashioned shot.
- aantix 4y ago
  14mg Rybelsus can be had for about $200/mo through Canadian pharmacies. Look at 1800rxonline.
sidewndr46 4y ago
I thought the UK had government healthcare?
- mclouts91 4y ago
  It does but it doesn’t mean you get any treatment available. They carefully make decisions on what treatments they can/should provide. This may be offered eventually but at the moment it’s a case of be very fat and get offered gastric sleeve or just be overweight and no treatments are offered other than advice about losing weight
  - aantix 4y ago
    Any sort of new care option, you're looking at 20-30 year window before it may become an option?
- nerdawson 4y ago
  Semaglutide is available on the NHS but I wouldn't currently qualify. It'd only be prescribed if I met certain criteria such as having type 2 diabetes. It's a case of either paying for a private prescription now, or waiting until it's made more accessible on the NHS.

onionisafruit 4y ago

My US doctor recommended it to me last week and said there was a way for it to cost about $200/mo if I want to do that. I thought it was strange that he said it that way instead of just saying the price, but I didn't follow up because we were 45 minutes into the appointment and I was ready to get out of there. I'm supposed to book a follow up appointment after I've read about it, so I guess I'll find out what he means then.

ceejayoz 4y ago
Pretty much every expensive medication has a copay assistance program in the US. For trirzepatide: https://www.mounjaro.com/hcp/savings-resources https://www.mounjaro.com/hcp/savings-resources They typically are income blind and make your out-of-pocket price negligible. I'm on a med (Skyrizi) that's $18k per shot, one every three months; their assistance program ensures I don't pay more than $5. They chip in on the deductible/coinsurance/copay, you don't skip the medication due to cost, and they still get significant money out of your insurer. Everybody wins, until everyone's premiums go up next year.
- thinkmcfly 4y ago
  Goddamn your healthcare system is fucked up.
  - strombofulous 4y ago
    Is it? Isn't this exactly the outcome you'd hope for? Individual consumers pay basically nothing and companies are still incentivized to innovate and create new medicines
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      Individual consumers aren’t paying nothing. The cost is just being hidden from them so they don’t flip over the tables. They pay via premiums - mine went up to $2,792/month this year - or if their employer pays those, via the resulting wage impact. And, as a result, we spend 2-3x what the rest of the OECD spends on healthcare - public and private spending - with roughly the same health outcomes.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    Agreed. Injecting a milliliter of fluid worth as much as a new car makes me twitchy.
giaour 4y ago
Your doc was probably referring to purchasing semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy, which is usually in the $200/month range (depending on dose). Compounded versions don't typically come in the user friendly "injection pen" format that brand name versions do, so not everybody is comfortable with that option.
- onionisafruit 4y ago
  Interesting. For an $800/mo savings, I can get real comfortable self administering an old-fashioned shot.
aantix 4y ago
14mg Rybelsus can be had for about $200/mo through Canadian pharmacies. Look at 1800rxonline.

sidewndr46 4y ago

I thought the UK had government healthcare?

mclouts91 4y ago
It does but it doesn’t mean you get any treatment available. They carefully make decisions on what treatments they can/should provide. This may be offered eventually but at the moment it’s a case of be very fat and get offered gastric sleeve or just be overweight and no treatments are offered other than advice about losing weight
- aantix 4y ago
  Any sort of new care option, you're looking at 20-30 year window before it may become an option?
nerdawson 4y ago
Semaglutide is available on the NHS but I wouldn't currently qualify. It'd only be prescribed if I met certain criteria such as having type 2 diabetes. It's a case of either paying for a private prescription now, or waiting until it's made more accessible on the NHS.