If you are insured and receive statements periodically from your insurance company you might see the “THIS IS NOT A BILL” watermark and then ignore it toss it in a drawer until the actual bill comes. I am 100% am guilty of this.

We all know how expensive health care is, and that intensifies once you are being treated for a chronic condition. To give you an example to demonstrate how absolutely INSANE this is:

So what you’re looking at is one of several bills that average a little over $67 a pop for an injection called Neupogen. Neupogen helps increase the number neutrophil count in your blood and thus helping your body to fight off infection. I am required to receive three shots in the week prior to a new cycle of chemo; therefore every three weeks it appears that I would need to spend about $200 JUST to get these shots.

What is most alarming to me is that for the uninsured, it would cost a person nearly $3000 every three weeks to keep their white blood cells in check for chemotherapy. Forget the thousands upon thousands of dollars charged for chemo, surgeries, and other fun complications.

…And we are talking ONE MICROGRAM of the stuff.

Um…yes, actually.

But seriously. This is nuts. I am well insured, working, and able to pay my medical bills just fine but seriously how does anyone that does not have the same circumstances afford to be sick? Just, how?!

It’s pretty disheartening. For $960, Neupogen shots better come in a diamond encrusted syringe.

Alas, I digress…

I’m not here to solely complain about corporate greed. What I really want to do is set the backstory for something that I didn’t know was a thing!

Listen up sick people-

After talking to Sheila to confirm that what I was reading was accurate, she informed me that it was but she would put me in contact with someone at the hospital to talk about it.

Luckily as of Oct. 24th they are switching to a less expensive brand of this drug (Zarxio- which I feel strongly should be the future name of my first child. No stealing, expectant mothers). This makes for much more affordable option (just over $500 a shot before insurance) and a far more reasonable co-pay.

What is even better is that this drug company has a co-pay assistance program that would help to cover the cost of what insurance will not! It’s not a payment plan, you don’t need to pay it back, and if I had to guess it’s offered to get more people to use their product. I would have never known this unless the Financial Authorization Coordinator, Kristi wasn’t so diligent.

So in conclusion, having a chronic illness can be crazy expensive, no I don’t need a loan, and finally- QUESTION your bills before you blindly pay them.

(p.s. If you thought for a second that I would name this post ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ and not post a Destiny’s Child GIF than you clearly don’t know me well enough).