TOPIC:

Ariel I agree wholeheartedly............Politicians are my least favorite people on this planet I'm afraid.

Also it seems that GP's can only prescribe them after the patient has seen a Specialist. Lordy, I am still on the waiting list at the Bendigo Base Hospital.....11 months so far!!!!!! God help those who cannot afford to see a Specialist privately (which I did off my own bat once I found out the wait time at the Hospital). I will cancel the appointment very soon.

It's not all chocolates and roses that's for sure.

A question on the PBS co-pay - a Dr on another site says the co-pay is $37/$6 per MONTH not per script. All the announcements i can find suggest the co-pay is per script, can anyone confirm what the co-pay will be for 12 weeks of Harvoni? If it is 3X 37, there has been woeful communication on such an important issue.

$114.90 on the PBS, or $18.60 with a Health Care Card...for three months.
according to a Liver Specialist from Cairns who is on the Facebook.
I tend to trust his view of how things will pan out generally....after all he is at the coal face to to speak.
Once the initial rush on Specialists subsides I don't think its going to be that hard to get treated.
Certainly if I can get a script on Wednesday then anyone can...I am F0-1 with 600,000 viral load.
Admittedly I've got all my ducks in a row, but it really wasn't that hard. I had to pay for a Fibroscan but thats okay.

Of course it may all yet go tits up, but on the whole I think its unlikely.

Hi Chapel,

Based on the prices that Dr James quoted above (28 pills) and how most PBS scripts work I would think that 3 x $37 for a 12 week treatment is correct. That is the standard process in Australia. As an example my GP writes me a script for 6 months worth of BP tablets at a time but that consists of one original plus 5 repeats so I have to pay each time. There is a safety net $ cutoff (currently about $1450 pa) and if you exceed that any extra scripts are free. Concessional prices are about $6 with cutoff of $366.

Edit: flyingfox's figures are correct, the prices went up a few cents on 1st Jan.

Todays PBS release....

www.pbs.gov.au/info/healthpro/explanator...eral-statement-hep-c

Vororo wrote: At current current rates, $66,000 AUD = 43,000 EUR. Back in 2014, the French government negotiated 41,000 EUR for 3 months of sofosbuvir.


.... Maybe the Australian govt should give a tax rebate to everyone who sources their own treatment? The saving would be massive.

"Gregg Alton has what seems like a disorienting job at Gilead Sciences Inc. He’s paid to figure out how to sell the drug Sovaldi, which infamously retails in the U.S. at $1,000 a pill, for relatively next to nothing."

hepatitiscnewdrugs.blogspot.com.au/2016/...000-pill-for-10.html


Thinking about these comments it occurs to me that it is highly unlikely that Gilead would give one first world country a significantly better price than the others; a few thousand here and there can be justified based on volume, competition, etc. but not tens of thousands. Hmmm, but what about rebates for certain volumes achieved or an annual safety net for volume or price? Isnt this is a common commercial practice in other fields where a supplier wants to achieve some particular aim without upsetting their other customers or general market conditions?

.....back to watching with interest.

Hi Flying Fox you are getting your script from the liver clinic tomorrow?
I am certain with your stats that people want to know if you do. Please as you say in your comments "If I can get a script on Wednesday than anyone can...." And "I have all my ducks in a row" referring to your testing being up to date please let us know if you get your script and meds on PBS tomorrow
I have friends who couldn't afford the generics I bought here at FixHepC and have given me my UND so quickly. They are not in good health like you are and have been in clinic for eons but have not got any real timeline yet from their capital city liver clinic hence my asking you to let us know if you do get the PBS meds tomorrow as you say. It will give a lot of people huge hope truly it will.
Thanks for this hope FF
Ariel

I certainly will keep you all posted Ariel
I did see a specialist in December, and I have to say if anyone needs one in Brisbane, I'd certainly recommend him...just message me, as I feel a bit uncomfortable about giving his name openly, especially as he was totally cool with monitoring generics for me.
When all this broke I found myself a great GP (likewise, happy to recommend) who has done the course on the meds. She has since been in communication with my specialist so I intend seeing her tomorrow for script.
After that I might wander up to the hospital pharmacy and see if they have any stock..if not it might take my regular pharmacy a day or two to get the meds.
I am so freaking excited!!
Not just for me but for everybody who is suffering.

It does seem that there is a quota deal happening, in that after the first 6000 patients, the rest of the years treatments are free.
Hopefully we can knock that right out of the ballpark!

I also have friend who is cirrhotic and I am hoping she can get her GP to do likewise, because her treating Liver Clinic is swamped. Either way, I am sure they will treat her within a month.

Also I would say to your friend, seek out a HIV/sexual health specialist GP clinic...they will most certainly be prescribing...and all it will probably need is a phone call to their specialist to get the ball rolling.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/hepa...20160229-gn6zyk.html

Well that went well.
Twelve weeks Harvoni script obtained at GP and lodged with Chemist...probable ETA tomorrow or the next day.

Good idea to find a chemist who has experience in dealing with HIV meds, because they already know the drill.

That's fantastic news, FF.

I really want to believe they're going to do this right. And having worked in the upper echelons of the PS, sometimes they do if they've got good public servants advising them who aren't too politicised.

Anyway, great to be able to say I'm delighted for you that you'll be starting Tx soon and all the best with it.

Hi all I just have a general question. If (someone's treatment failed, can they still go through Dr Freeman to get another course of treatment at the PBS prices, I watched his interview on the FB page and got the impression that yes, patients could go through GP2U and they would organise a clearance from a specialist to get the meds. Just curious more than anything

Thanks Chester... I was bouncing down the street with a ridiculous smile after my appointment. People must have thought I was crazy
My GP, who is very "switched on" corroborated the capping news. That is that beyond a certain amount (probably 6000 per year) the treatments will be free. So we can only hope everyone who wants to will get treated.

Lynne Francis, I am pretty sure Dr Freeman will be prescribing PBS meds.
He did say in an email to me a few weeks ago that he would be doing so.
I guess he'll need to confirm that himself.
Not sure what the drill is with treatment failures.

EDIT: Check out the new video!
Answers all the questions