Shingles vaccine

[Ronnieboy]

Khan, thanks for bringing this up. After my dad had a bad case of shingles 2 years ago, I've been meaning to get a shingles shot. Dad still feels the pain after 2 years. He says it is really really painful. Must one wait to be "old enough" to get a shingles shot? I am going to be 51 soon. I read that shingles is far more common for people aged 50 or above and the vaccine is recommended for people 60 years or above. So if shingles is also common for people aged 50 or above, is it ok for them to get the shingles shot earlier? I haven't gone to see a doctor to ask about this yet though I know if the doctor recommends it, I can claim against my insurance. So, for those who already got the vaccine, did you all wait until 60?

It has been approved for 50 and older

FDA approves Zostavax vaccine to prevent shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age

Now you just have to find it

 

[Moscyn]

It has been approved for 50 and older

FDA approves Zostavax vaccine to prevent shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age

Now you just have to find it

Thanks! Another issue for me other than finding it is that this is approved in the US and as I live in Hong Kong, I have to find out whether it is approved here too!

 

[GregLee]

How much are they charging? We both just turned 60.

I looked for my receipt -- can't find it, sorry. My recollection is that I paid around $30 co-payment. I found a news report from 2008 for here in Hawaii:

With insurance, the shot is typically $15 to $50, though state workers aren't covered until age 65.

Previous postings here suggest an uninsured cost of something like $350.

 

[East Texas]

May 2011 (just a few days after the FDA lowered the age)
Insurance company billed $200
Contract payment $165 deductible did not apply since this was under "wellness".

 

[misanman]

Having a regular doctor seems like a good idea to me. That's who I go to for my annual check up. Got the vaccine at my last yearly visit, but I think I mentioned it to them when I made the appointment and they had to order it as they don't keep it in stock.

 

[mystang52]

The shingles vaccine has live virus in it. That is no problem for healthy people, but the vaccine cannot be taken by anyone with a compromised immunity system.

 

[donheff]

It has been approved for 50 and older

FDA approves Zostavax vaccine to prevent shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age

Now you just have to find it

Interesting. I had to wait until I was 60 to get one. DW is 58 - I will tell her to get one on the next checkup.

 

[gromit]

Shingles is a reactivation of the Chicken Pox virus, so the lucky few that never had Chicken Pox, won't get Shingles. I wasn't that fortunate, and had a relatively small outbreak of Shingles earlier this year. Besides not enjoying the outbreak, I found out that an outbreak does not give you immunity from a future one and that once you have Shingles you have to wait a year before getting the immunization.

 

[Texas Proud]

I got this a few years ago along with a pneumonia shot.

Both are once in a lifetime deals.

I did have to go to the local Army med center to get mine as it was not available at the Army health clinic. The Dr did have to perscribe it.

I got mine last year... had a prescription because at the time it was not approved for less than 60...

Went to a couple of places and they would not give me one even with a prescription... called around and found a Walgreen's that would give me one.... and did not need the prescription...

However, he said that I would need another in about 10 years since I got mine when I was 'young'.... so I do not think it is a one time shot....

 

[braumeister]

Shingles is a reactivation of the Chicken Pox virus, so the lucky few that never had Chicken Pox, won't get Shingles.

Not necessarily true.
I never had chicken pox (confirmed with my mother), yet I got a nasty case of shingles in my mid-50s.
The virus, or a variant of it, apparently slipped into my system somewhere along the line, but there certainly were no chicken pox type symptoms.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Not necessarily true.
I never had chicken pox (confirmed with my mother), yet I got a nasty case of shingles in my mid-50s.
The virus, or a variant of it, apparently slipped into my system somewhere along the line, but there certainly were no chicken pox type symptoms.

Not necessarily. Many patients have childhhood chicken pox which is not detected - symptoms so mild that they are unnoticed. If you were born in the 50s or before you almost certainly had chicken pox by antibody titers. Very few are negative in that age group.

 

[East Texas]

When I was a young 'un and had the chicken pox / mumps / measles my mother would put me in her bed during the day. She's draw the heavy drapes so sunlight couldn't come in and make me blind. Then she'd turn on a very dim bulb and put a towel over it to dim it even more. At the end of all the room-darkening she'd give me new crayons and a new coloring book and told me to have fun.

The kiddos these days just don't know how much fun it was to be dragged to every house with an outbreak of any kind of childhood disease just so you'd catch it and be done with it.

 

[aldo]

It has been approved for 50 and older

FDA approves Zostavax vaccine to prevent shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age

Now you just have to find it

Thanks for the link. I emailed my HMO (Kaiser) earlier and was told I could get the shot without an appointment and at no cost (preventative procedure). I received the shot within 1 hour of emailing Kaiser.

 

[braumeister]

Not necessarily. Many patients have childhhood chicken pox which is not detected - symptoms so mild that they are unnoticed..

Thanks, that probably explains it. I always thought it was kind of amazing that I never had the pox, since nearly all my friends did.

 

[kramer]

When did it become required to get a prescription/doctor?

Yes, it really sucks. I wanted to get the standard Typhoid Vaccine (oral) last year in the USA (California) because my 5 years was up since I took it the last time -- this is recommended by the CDC for virtually all travelers. I priced it at the pharmacy (about $80), but they said I had to get a doctor's prescription. I called a local doctor and he said that will be $85 for the prescription. Can I also have permission to go to the bathroom, sir? Screw that. I just got it done when I traveled to Colombia, no prescription, and at a lower price.

 

[haha]

Yes, it really sucks. I wanted to get the standard Typhoid Vaccine (oral) last year in the USA (California) because my 5 years was up since I took it the last time -- this is recommended by the CDC for virtually all travelers. I priced it at the pharmacy (about $80), but they said I had to get a doctor's prescription. I called a local doctor and he said that will be $85 for the prescription. Can I also have permission to go to the bathroom, sir? Screw that. I just got it done when I traveled to Colombia, no prescription, and at a lower price.

But if you were a doctor, these laws would look pretty good.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

But if you were a doctor, these laws would look pretty good.

Not really: time and staff to take the call, message to doctor; quick chart scan by doctor for allergies, dose check, etc. OK the shot, take liability for same, write and deliver prescription to patient, perhaps a quick discussion re: side effects.

Net doctor time: say 10 min
Charge: $0
Cost (time, staff): -$10
Totals: 10 minutes of doctor time, $10 staff and phone/rx paid by doctor

I guess you could make it up on volume .

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's what I've found.

According to the pharmacist at Rite Aid (California), no prescription is necessary.

If you walk in and get it at Rite Aid, the cost is $200.

CVS will not give it to you if you are under 60 years old.

Blue cross covers it. We're below our deductible, and I can't find out how much it would be with the "negotiated rate." The pharmacist was relatively clueless about the insurance issue.

Our doc recommends it.

 

[Ronnieboy]

The pharmacist was relatively clueless about the insurance issue.

Hey now, do you know how many phone calls we get from people who want to know how much something will be on their insurance?

Hate to break it to people, but we are not insurance agents for the 500,000 different plans that are out there.
No big book to look at either

A prescription has to be processed and sent to the insurance to get a price.

 

[TromboneAl]

Well how do I find out about the "negotiated rate" if any? BC didn't know what it would be.

I think it will be: get shot, have Ritraid bill BC, find out what happens.

 

[Ronnieboy]

Well how do I find out about the "negotiated rate" if any? BC didn't know what it would be.

I think it will be: get shot, have Ritraid bill BC, find out what happens.

In "theory" BC should know the rate, they are the ones who set the contract price. The other way is to have the pharmacy fill it (process through the insurance), then they will tell you the price before the vaccination (they will want you to pay before injection). If it is more than you want to pay or are expecting, say, 'no thanks' and leave.

Off topic rant....

You'd be surprised how many people think they have to pick up their meds at the checkout. I don't understand people who pay $xxx.xx for a prescription then call 1/2 hour later and say, "I didn't realize it was so much (you didn't realize when you were paying??), I don't want it."
Well guess what? It can't be re-dispensed after it has left the pharmacy (and would you really want a med after it has gone home with someone else and come back??) it just gets destroyed.

If you find a pharmacy who will take it back and refund your money, they will have to cover the loss in higher prices just like everyone else in business.

So bottom line, when you get to the cash register and your rx is more than you thought, don't pick it up, ask questions or call you insurance and find out why.

 

[braumeister]

This is, IMHO, the biggest single problem with health care in the USA.
There is no transparency on the cost of nearly everything, so the consumer can't shop around.

 

[Ronnieboy]

This is, IMHO, the biggest single problem with health care in the USA.
There is no transparency on the cost of nearly everything, so the consumer can't shop around.

Well you do have to realize what you can shop around for...as for prescriptions if you pay cash, you can call any and each pharmacy and find out what their price is. If you have insurance you have to know what your plan pays.

In general...

If you have a flat copay i.e. $40 for brand name meds, you are going to pay $40 for your Lipitor no matter where you go b/c the cash price is going to be over that everywhere. If Walgreens says their Lipitor is $110 and CVS says $95 you still pay $40. You might say, well if I go to Walgreens, my insurance gets charged $15 extra. That isn't the case b/c your insurance company has a contracted price they are going to pay for Lipitor no matter what the cash price is, let's say it is $98. Walgreens gets paid $58 ($98-40 copay) and CVS gets paid $55 ($95-40 copay)because the insurance takes the lower of the two (cash price vs. contract price).

Now where you can save money is shopping on the generics. If you have a $10 generic copay and your Lisinopril is $4 at Wal-Mart or $15 at Walgreens, you can get it for $4 at Wal-Mart, then you *should* pay the $4 even if you run it through insurance (99% of insurance companies will charge you the lower of your copay or the cash price).
Or you will pay $10 at Walgreens b/c their cash price is higher than your copay (unless the insurance price is contracted for lower, which doesn't happen very often on generics, this is how chains make up for what they feel like they are being screwed on brand name drugs). For a savings to you of $6 by going to Wal-Mart.

Having said that, it is my opinion that you find the one pharmacy that has the best overall prices (and service) and go there. You want to keep all your prescriptions at one pharmacy so they can continually check for drug interactions.

So to swing back on topic, Trombone Al should pay his contracted price through BC if he gets his shingles vaccine through Rite Aid ($200 cash price) or Walgreens ($220 cash price).

 

[TromboneAl]

Thanks, Ronnieboy.

Mayohealth.org says: "But if you're younger than age 60, hold off on the shingles vaccine until you reach that age."

WebMD says: "The CDC recommends a single dose of the shingles vaccine for people aged 50 and older..."

 

[Texas Proud]

Thanks, Ronnieboy.

Mayohealth.org says: "But if you're younger than age 60, hold off on the shingles vaccine until you reach that age."

WebMD says: "The CDC recommends a single dose of the shingles vaccine for people aged 50 and older..."

The few people that I know who got shingles got it between 50 and 60... only one that I know over 60....