![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by betty72 on August 30, 2004, at 12:50:26
Has anyone had any success appealing United Healthcare to pay for provigil? After trying several dosage levels, I found 500mg to be very effective. UHC, however, is giving me a hard time saying that the FDA has not approved 500mg doses.
Thanks
Posted by King Vultan on August 30, 2004, at 14:05:35
In reply to Provigil Appeals, posted by betty72 on August 30, 2004, at 12:50:26
> Has anyone had any success appealing United Healthcare to pay for provigil? After trying several dosage levels, I found 500mg to be very effective. UHC, however, is giving me a hard time saying that the FDA has not approved 500mg doses.
> Thanks
It is a very expensive drug. I think some of UHC's policies on medication are inane, but I can perhaps see their point on this one. Personally, I have had to switch some medications myself because of copay issues with UHC. If it were me, I would probably try to find a cheaper alternative, such as one of the Schedule II stimulants.Todd
Posted by BJM on August 30, 2004, at 14:55:11
In reply to Provigil Appeals, posted by betty72 on August 30, 2004, at 12:50:26
Is there anyway that your doc could come up with some creative way of prescribing it? Sometimes the docs know of ways to get the med covered. There is such a big difference between Provigil and stimulants. To switch over to a stimulant, I know for me, wouldn't work since stimulants tend to increase anxiety for me as well as having a pretty rough crash when they wear off. If you haven't already asked the doc it might be worth a try.
Posted by Rick on August 30, 2004, at 19:04:57
In reply to Provigil Appeals, posted by betty72 on August 30, 2004, at 12:50:26
> Has anyone had any success appealing United Healthcare to pay for provigil? After trying several dosage levels, I found 500mg to be very effective. UHC, however, is giving me a hard time saying that the FDA has not approved 500mg doses.
> ThanksUHC (and Medco, their drug administrator) is awful. But I do think coverage of a drug depends on your individual plan, which is probably driven by your employer. About six months ago Medco said my plan no longer covers Provigil except in some very specific circumstances. I'm not comfortable getting too explicit about how I got the coverage back, other than to say it invloved that facts that 1) Provigil now has an FDA indication for daytime sleepiness due to obstructive sleep apnea, and 2) I weighed *a lot* more back when I had a sleep study done. I handled the appeals process myself; my pdoc wasn't involved. But there might be situations where it's better to get the doctor(s) involved.
Rick
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.