Paxlovid Cost

[ivinsfan]

harlee , Hope both of you are starting to feel better. BMC it appears the link you used is income dependent. And you must not have prescription drug insurance. I have a friend on Medicare who needs multiple expensive meds and this rule means he doesn't get any outside help paying for them.

 

[simple girl]

I'm so sorry you are both sick. We got COVID in September. We are not on Medicare, but have a high deductible plan. Cost for Pax would have been around $1600 each. We jumped through a bunch of hoops and were finally able to get it free via the manufacturer's program.

I hope you feel better soon. I had quite a high fever for a while despite being on Paxlovid. Can only imagine how sick I would have been without it. We both did eventually recover.

 

[harllee]

harlee--
so sorry to hear you and DH have covid, I know from previous postings, you have been very cautious.
Hope the paxlovid helps and you both recover soon.
Take care.

Thanks so much. We were very cautious early on (DH is immune compromised and I have a 93 year old mom with Alzheimers that I visit frequently). But this year we had gone back to normal life. We probably picked up Covid at a UNC basketball game. We are doing better--no more fever and cough is a little worse.

 

[harllee]

OP here, I have spent a couple hours on the phone with Paxlovid patient support and CVS and I am supposed to get a refund of the full $758 I paid but I have to go by CVS and give them my card, receipt etc. This is the story as I understand it--the government has a program to pay the full price for Paxlovid for Medicare patient but it expired 12/31/24. However that program has now been extended for a year but CVS did not realize it had been extended. So me, the sick patient had to spend all this time to straighten this out and now I have to haul my sick self back to CVS. Such is life. if it were just a few dollars I would forget it but for $758 I am going to do it.

 

[Sunset]

OP here, I have spent a couple hours on the phone with Paxlovid patient support and CVS and I am supposed to get a refund of the full $758 I paid but I have to go by CVS and give them my card, receipt etc. This is the story as I understand it--the government has a program to pay the full price for Paxlovid for Medicare patient but it expired 12/31/24. However that program has now been extended for a year but CVS did not realize it had been extended. So me, the sick patient had to spend all this time to straighten this out and now I have to haul my sick self back to CVS. Such is life. if it were just a few dollars I would forget it but for $758 I am going to do it.

Thanks for letting us know it's been extended for 2025. I didn't know.

 

[Sarah S]

The rules change March 1 https://aspr.hhs.gov/COVID-19/Thera...2025, Medicare,the medication based on income.

 

[ivinsfan]

Well I'm glad you got that squared but it's beyond silly you have to make an in person visit to fix this. Absolutely CVS could fix it without you having to do that. I hope you complain. It's a pharmacy purchase they have the records six ways from Sunday.

 

[harllee]

AND I have to go to CVS to fix this within 7 days of purchase, which only gives me a couple more days to get it done. I have a good mind to cough all over the pharmacist when I go in but of course I will not--I will wear a mask.

 

[simple girl]

AND I have to go to CVS to fix this within 7 days of purchase, which only gives me a couple more days to get it done. I have a good mind to cough all over the pharmacist when I go in but of course I will not--I will wear a mask.

Ugh! That's just wrong that they won't correct this over the phone. I'm glad you are able to get reimbursed, though.

 

[harllee]

One trick I have found--Paxlovid leaves a metallic taste in my mouth (a common side effect). I researched this and the suggestion was to put the pill inside a teaspoon of margarine or butter and swallow it fast. This has eliminated the metallic taste and also made the pill much easier to swallow.

 

[ivinsfan]

AND I have to go to CVS to fix this within 7 days of purchase, which only gives me a couple more days to get it done. I have a good mind to cough all over the pharmacist when I go in but of course I will not--I will wear a mask.

You know when Walmart boinks on a pickup order or gives me expired milk they fix it instantly online...also within 7 days of purchase when you are sick...CVS should be ashamed.. they are the ones that made the mistake.

 

[aja8888]

One trick I have found--Paxlovid leaves a metallic taste in my mouth (a common side effect). I researched this and the suggestion was to put the pill inside a teaspoon of margarine or butter and swallow it fast. This has eliminated the metallic taste and also made the pill much easier to swallow.

Thanks for the tip!

I put my dog's monthly heartworm prevention pill in a dab of soft cream cheese and he just thinks that's dandy!

Shame on CVS for putting you through this.

 

[iloveyoga]

OP here, I have spent a couple hours on the phone with Paxlovid patient support and CVS and I am supposed to get a refund of the full $758 I paid but I have to go by CVS and give them my card, receipt etc. This is the story as I understand it--the government has a program to pay the full price for Paxlovid for Medicare patient but it expired 12/31/24. However that program has now been extended for a year but CVS did not realize it had been extended. So me, the sick patient had to spend all this time to straighten this out and now I have to haul my sick self back to CVS. Such is life. if it were just a few dollars I would forget it but for $758 I am going to do it.

Thanks for the info! Hope you are feeling better!

 

[harllee]

I actually hate CVS and never use them. I normally use a small independent pharmacy that delivers to our CCRC. But that pharmacy does not stock Paxlovid (don't know why) so I had to use CVS.

 

[Aerides]

AND I have to go to CVS to fix this within 7 days of purchase, which only gives me a couple more days to get it done. I have a good mind to cough all over the pharmacist when I go in but of course I will not--I will wear a mask.

Having to go back within 7 days when you have covid is insane!

 

[harllee]

Having to go back within 7 days when you have covid is insane!

You would think that a pharmacist would know that you can still be infectious after 7 days but they seem to be clueless. I am going to try to do this tomorrow and see if I can use their drive through. Boo on CVS.

 

[Aerides]

It's probably their general policy on price adjustments, but no one has had a lightbulb moment that perhaps they might want to be a bit less stupid.

 

[pacergal]

One trick I have found--Paxlovid leaves a metallic taste in my mouth (a common side effect). I researched this and the suggestion was to put the pill inside a teaspoon of margarine or butter and swallow it fast. This has eliminated the metallic taste and also made the pill much easier to swallow.

Thanks for the tip. We just picked up our Paxlovid this morning. No cost for us with Kaiser Advantage medicare