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Expensive but affordable

There's no denying it. Tolvaptan - brand name Jynarque - is CRAZY expensive.

The wholesale price is just north of $13,000... A MONTH!

Dear God.

I've searched and searched to find out how much pharmacies are beings charged for the drug, as well as my insurance company, but I've yet to find a source. Surely there has to be some kind of 'negotiated price' like you see with healthcare?!?

My doctor suggested increasing my dosage - after I'd already received the next month's supply - and I about hyperventilated. There's no returning drugs and the thought of wasting $13,000 of pills left me queasy. So instead, we decided that I'd stay on the lower dose for another month and then increase the dose the next time. Deep breaths...

Regardless, Otsuka (manufacturer of the drug) is working to make sure that the patients' out of pocket for the drug is manageable.


Through their MyPASS program, patients with commercial insurance can acquire the prescription for a $10 monthly copay which breaks down to $2.50 a month. That's less than what it costs for a 'fancy' coffee!

So, for instance, I believe that my insurance company says my co-pay for a specialty drug like Tolvaptan is $95 a month (still a bargain). Once I knew that my prescription had been approved by my insurance company, I went to Otsuka's Co-pay Support page and signed up for MyPASS. When Avella called to schedule my first delivery, they already had my information on file and with ABSOLUTELY NO HASSLE I was invoiced $10.

Easy peasey.

I've heard grumblings from members of the Tolvaptan Community that it doesn't work quite as smoothly for one of the other specialty pharmacies, but since I have no experience with the others I'll let them speak for themselves.

I'm not sure how long this co-payment supplement will last, but I'm grateful for as long as it does.
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