Growth hormone | Imamother

amother

Lightblue

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 5:24 pm

anon23 wrote:

A deductible is still not negotiable. There's no cheap alternative. I'm kinda just asking how everyone does it - checking to see if there's something I'm missing!

It’s something people work into their annual budget if that’s the only option available. Or they look for jobs with better insurance but insurance and medical care in the US is expensive unfortunately. A lower deductible just means a higher premium in many cases.

amother

Nemesia

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 8:21 pm

So we had to pay for all the testing (X ray, blood test, stim test, brain mri) - deductibles, copays etc.
But once insurance approved we got on a copay assistance program for free because it is private commercial insurance (not medicaid or government plan). So the medication is free. It was a certain total dollar amount per year towards copays that the pharmacy billed the company for.

But now the meds are out of stock!! I need chizuk to get this covered. I am fighting the insurance company to approve a different medication but they denied because my kid hasn't "failed" the other approved meds. He hasn't failed because it is OUT OF STOCK. Unavailable from the manufacturer. Doctors office is so slow and not taking care of this. I shouldnt have to call pharmacies, insurance, the doctors office all multiple times. I need chizzuk. 😫

amother

Plum

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 8:22 pm

amother Nemesia wrote:

We just got approved for the expensive one. That's hard that they are giving you a hard time maybe they can fight for it being out of stock as a valid reason.

amother

Wandflower

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 8:55 pm

My insurance company denied coverage for ideopathic short stature (went through all levels of appeal). We are paying out of pocket. BH we are in a position to be able to make the choice to do this. It runs us about $800 a month but cost would depend on the dosage and medication you are prescribed.

amother

Turquoise

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 9:19 pm

amother Wandflower wrote:

Just $800? Wow

amother

Nemesia

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 11:27 pm

amother Plum wrote:

We just got approved for the expensive one. That's hard that they are giving you a hard time maybe they can fight for it being out of stock as a valid reason.

Which are more expensive?

What's worse is that the pediatric endocrinologist is super slow it seems. The office is not very on top of things. I have no idea the rationale they used, I just got a copy of the denial.

amother

Dodgerblue

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 4:04 am

My son is on GH for a few years. We had to switch brands a couple of months ago due to shortages. When we first started, insurance would not approve it. The dr kept resending the authorization but they refused. We switch insurance companies the next year and haven’t had a problem since. We have an expensive insurance plan that just has a copay for medication so we pay $40 a month. The lower insurance plans had a coinsurance for meds which would come out very high.

amother

Alyssum

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 4:16 am

Ds is on skytrofa
No shortage. No refrigeration. Once a week injection. No side effects other than growing pains.
Bh endo is happy with his progress. He’s slowly inching up towards the growth curve as he was below it all this time.
Medicaid and no cost to us at all.

amother

Wandflower

Thu, Dec 07 2023, 4:50 am

amother Turquoise wrote:

Just $800? Wow

I believe the cost has to do with the pharmacy that the drug company uses to handle the private pay accounts. It’s not a negotiated price with the insurance company.

mandr

Mon, Dec 11 2023, 9:17 pm

My son just started Omnitrope. Norditropin wasn't in stock and won't be until January 2024 (they think). I pay $0 with Child Health Plus (with Fidelis). Dr told us to switch from UHC to Fidelis since they handle these things really well. BH it took about 2 weeks to get everything approved and delivered. My son has idiopathic short stature (not deficient in GH) and was approved because he's less than -3 SD.

amother

Chambray

Mon, Dec 11 2023, 9:20 pm

amother Amethyst wrote:

When I was young I was taken to the doctor with this issue, now I’m 163 cm and so so happy my parents did not give me growth hormones in the end, otherwise I would feel too short for my husband (around 5”7) and MIL as well as for clothes.
I would wait for your results. If it’s really not severe I wouldn’t worry about it.

True, I always wanted to be tall, but am happy short. It’s good for a women, but would be bad for a man.

amother

Brown

Mon, Dec 11 2023, 9:33 pm

amother Kiwi wrote:

My son took it for several years. It was highly effective and he had no side effects. He grew over a foot on it and ended up close to 6 feet.

What is the name for this medication. My nephew has been taking growth hormone shots for almost two years and he can still grow at least a foot or two.

amother

Candycane

Mon, Dec 11 2023, 9:58 pm

Does anyone have experience with growth hormone when there is a genetic syndrome causing short stature? Effectiveness? Appropriateness? Insurance coverage?

mandr

Mon, Dec 11 2023, 10:08 pm

amother Candycane wrote:

Does anyone have experience with growth hormone when there is a genetic syndrome causing short stature? Effectiveness? Appropriateness? Insurance coverage?

Really depends on the condition. If it’s PAPPA2 deficiency for example then gh won’t do a thing.

amother

Acacia

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 7:42 am

Can anyone advise me at what age do you follow up with the endocrinologist? My son is barely growing if at all, below 0 on the chart, but the pediatrician is not sending me to an endocrinologist. I don't want to miss the window if he needs the growth hormones.....thanks

mandr

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 8:40 am

amother Acacia wrote:

Follow up with endo or to go to an endo? I went when my baby was almost 1. She said come back in a year. Same situation. He was always below 0 since day 1 and never got higher. My dr never sent me to an endo but I wanted to be proactive and glad we did BH.

amother

Firethorn

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 7:01 pm

Anyone still having shortage issues? We were on nutropin, it went out of stock, switched to sogroya (once a week) which I was super happy about it now it went out of stock. Not sure what to do?? Insurance orig denied skytrofa I have uhc child health plus….
I get thru Optum are there any other pharmacies?

amother

Nemesia

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 7:47 pm

amother Firethorn wrote:

Yep. We switched meds to something available. What is out depends on dosages- randomly other amounts were available but not type my kid needed.