Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby molly dooker » Fri Nov 12, 2010 10:07 am

Chris

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby LuvMyLab » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:45 am

They have nuclear medicine at Waringal private and I got bulk billed this morning which was excellent.

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby chrismelb » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:23 am

Well i am similar to Eve. I am suprised that you girls have had to pay cos i thought they wouldn't have nuclear departments at private hospitals, i thought it was more a big public hospital type thing. I've had heaps of MUGAs cos of my trial and herceptin.
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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby LuvMyLab » Thu Nov 11, 2010 10:25 pm

Yep Eve,

That's the difference. You pay an armful for private and pay but as a public patient you get everything for nothing which is how it should be. I guess lucky in a way as you hear some horror stories of people not getting the appropriate health care due to not having private insurance. Glad you have been looked after money wise

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby evep » Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:52 pm

I've had heart stress test, CT scans, bone scans, MRI, 3 kinds of chemo, mastectomy, radiotherapy and about 10 day in ICU, as well as ambulance costs, just about everything, and I haven't had to pay a cent. I'm a public patient at Canberra Hospital. Am I just lucky or what?
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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby JudyB » Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:52 pm

I have had to have a couple of echocardiograms in this journey even though I am not doing herceptin. Both of them were non contrast and I went private. I had to pay for both but did get to claim some of it back.
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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby schoolteacher » Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:38 pm

I had the echocardiogram, contrast free...I was private, I had to pay but most of it was refunded as I broke the safety net fairly early on as most of us would I imagine

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby LuvMyLab » Thu Nov 11, 2010 5:39 pm

Hi Chrissie,

I'm private, am going to Waringal Priv Hospital so I guess there'll be out of pocket. Ahh well. I'm used to that. I have to fully fund the Zoladex injections each month - that one is hurting the purse. But can't complain hey.

I am not actually getting the dye injected. When the Onc told me about it and saw my face go paler than Michael Jackson (RIP) he decided to let me have the echo / ultrasound method - not sure of the technical name for it.

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby molly dooker » Thu Nov 11, 2010 5:22 pm

Hi LML,
I don't know. It may be different if it is in the public system. Are you public or private? I was private all the way, so the heart scan people even though they are in the same complex were a totally different entity from the hospital. My heart scans were always around the $400 mark each. I think I claimed from Medicare the refund. Actually yes I did, because one of them I was over the safety net figure, so ended up with just about it all back.
Do you know where you are getting it done? You could maybe give them a call?
Btw, do you have a power port? If you do, the heart scan contrast can be put through the port as long as it is a power port. You just have to get someone who is qualified to access it first normally an oncology clinic nurse.
Good luck.
Chris

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Re: Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby LuvMyLab » Thu Nov 11, 2010 4:58 pm

Hi Chrissie,

thanks for posting this. I am going in for a heart scan tomorrow at the hospital where I have my chemo, but I won't be having chemo on the same day. I wonder if I'll be out of pocket.

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Herceptin heart scan out of pocket costs

Postby molly dooker » Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:59 am

I hope I have this is the correct section. This was in the paper today.

"Australian women taking a lifesaving breast cancer drug can face out-of- pocket expenses of more than $1000 despite the treatment being government-funded, according to a support group.

Breast Cancer Network Australia said Herceptin was effective against some early breast cancers and, though it had Federal funding, women needed regular heart tests which could cost $300 at a time.

Policy manager Michelle Marven told a Clinical Oncological Society of Australia conference in Melbourne yesterday that a survey showed hundreds of women with breast cancer were paying hundreds of dollars for the treatment.

Because of one side effect from Herceptin, women prescribed the drug through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme were required to have four heart monitoring tests.

A survey by the network showed 40 per cent of women reported significant out-of-pocket expenses for these mandatory tests. Some had to pay more than $1000.

Some women on Herceptin were referred for tests known as multigated acquisition scans while others were referred for an echocardiogram.

Ms Marven said this meant many patients, including women in difficult financial circumstances, were faced with significant additional costs.

Some avoided out-of-pocket expenses by having their heart tests on the same day as their Herceptin infusions and so were considered inpatients.

"While there is a rebate for the cost of this heart monitoring, the out-of-pocket cost can vary significantly and it's pretty unfortunate that women have to incur it," she said.

Ms Marven said doctors should be warning patients about the potential expenses, despite the drug being free.

She said governments should cover the additional costs."

I thought it was interesting that some women had the scan the same day as the infusion to be an inpatient. I had a ct and bone scan for different reasons while still in hospital, and paid nothing. But with my heart scans for Herceptin (about 3) although I received some money back I was still out of pocket considerably.
Chris


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