Reply To: Anti-MAG treatment update

Hi Ila,

That is interesting about the C20 cells. That probably explains why Rituxan works for some people but not everyone.

I read on the United Health Care website that Rituxan is not approved for anti-MAG neuropathy through Medicare since there have been no clinical trials that have proven it is effective. But we know it IS effective by the smaller trials that have not involved a large enough number of patients to make the trial results statistically significant. It must be frustrating for you and others who have been helped by Rituxan but Medicare won’t cover the costs.

While I am still 4 years away from qualifying for Medicare, I understand they DO cover the costs of IVIG. I have been getting infusions every 3 weeks at a “charged” price of $25,000, with the “insurance will cover” cost of $9,000. So about 18 infusions per year x $9,000 = $162,000 per year for IVIG treatments.

Since Rituxan has much longer lasting benefits than IVIG treatments (if they help your anti-MAG), I wonder if Medicare could be convinced to cover your Rituxan if you showed them the yearly cost of Rituxan vs. IVIG treatments. Maybe you already have done so? I find it hard to believe that Rituxan infusions every 6 months or 3 months would be more expensive than IVIG every 3 weeks.

Peter