Yesterday Dendreon, the producers of Provenge, received word from the FDA that their plant in California had been approved to manufacture Provenge. This afternoon they received a positive response from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that a final National Coverage Decision (NCD) for Provenge has been issued requiring Medicare contractors to cover Provenge for treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer.
Additionally, Provenge is being issued a Q-code effective July 1, 2011, which allows for electronic submission of claims and is expected to accelerate time to payment for physicians.
Dendreon has committed itself to continue supporting programs to provide comprehensive assistance for eligible men seeking access to treatment with Provenge, including through grants to independent foundations and establishment of a patient assistance program for uninsured patients. Dendreon provides grants to independently run foundations providing qualifying patients with financial assistance for co-pays, co-insurance, and treatment-related travel costs.
The last two days were winning days for men with advanced prostate cancer.
Happy “Provenging”
Joel T. Nowak
Dear Joel,
Inasmuch as Medicare will now be contributing to costs for Provenge, and in respect of the current programs to increase both facilities, and subsequently the vaccine…How does one gain access to the vaccine?
To wit, I am now faced with hormone failure and have a rising PSA. Obviously I recognize Provenge as a viable assistance at this juncture of my life, and also understand time is of the essence. I am prepared to offer some monetary funds if required as additional costs beyond Medicare.
ANY information or advice you might provide would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
David E. Hojnoski
David,
Contact Dendreon ON Call at 1.877.336.3736, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. They will tell you how to get this treatment and will refer you to a non-profit that can assist you in covering your co-pay. Good luck – Joel
Hi Joel,
Thank you for the information. I will contact them poste haste. (My PC has been in the shop for 5 days so I apologize for the delay in response to you.
I will keep you posted of my response for Dendreon.
Hugs,
David
Hello Joel,
Further to my last email, I have contacted Dendreon ON as advised by you. Subsequenly, they referred me to a “prescriber (hospital) that would do the three (3)Provenge infusion treatments. Thus, I have now made that contact with a hospital in upstate NY. The following points can be made:
1) Each infusion cost charged by the hospital is $70,000, for a total of $210,000.
2) Medicare Part B reduces the above cost to $7000 per infusion or a lower total of $21,000.
If a US citizen has only Medicare Part A, he may get it by subscribing to Part B, which would deduct the respective fee from ones Social Security benefit. I believe Part B is only offered in January of each year.
Failing this latter approach, then it is likely that the Provenge treatment modality is best assumed by the wealthy…hence, poor people will not be capable of paying these extrordinary prices. It does seem a tad unfair?
Hope this info is helpul to others.
Kind regards,
David E. Hojnoski
David – I sent this on to someone I know at Dendreon for their comments (I did not include any identifying information). If I hear back I will post their response. – Joel
David is mistaking the cost of Provenge. It is 93K for all three doses. The infusing Doctor gets 5800.00 on top of that. That’s it. The number he states is incorrect. Not sure why he is trying ti present incorrect information, but incorrect it is.