Charles, IVIG is most likely going to cost considerably more than 15k. The amount you will be receiving should be based on body weight. My treatment at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver was 65 g each for three days totaling 195 g. I weigh 215 pounds. The total cost was $37,000.

The L. P. that was done two years ago was not a big deal. My neurologist used a fairly thin needle and I hardly felt anything.

Take care

In a report from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of The Inspector General, it stated that Medicare Part B and its beneficiaries paid approximately $74 million for IVIG administered in physicians offices and patient homes in 2006. In addition Medicare paid an additional $130 million for IVIG in hospital outpatient settings from January thru October 2006. This report is about 30 pages long and covers payment and availability. Real interesting.

Ron

In 1995, when I first received IVIG, my insurance company was billed by the hospital $1300 per infusion. What everyone is saying that their insurance companies are being billed makes me feel that the hospitals are taking the insurance companies to the cleaners. I realize that it takes a great deal of donors to make one infusion, but these charges are horrific. I was on a website called FFF Enterprises. They are supposedly one of the largest suppliers of IVIG. They had listed the wholesale prices which varied from $51.00 per gram for Carrimune to just over $68.00 per gram for Gamunex.

Ron

I’ve been trying to figure out the cost of IVIG and really can’t get a straight answer out of my Dr.or the Hospital where i get the Infusion.I was diagnosed w/CIDP in Jan.06.I had infusion therapy in Feb,& Mar,06 3days each timew/approx.70 grams each day.The bill from the Hospital was approx.32K for each treatment[64k total].The next round of treatment was in Dec.06,this time 75grams per day for 3 days-bill approx.32k.In Jan.& Feb.07 same treatment 75grams per day-3 days-bill 94k for each treatment cycle[188k total]:confused: -Jan.& Feb 07 jumped almost 300% for each month.I’ve called the Hospital numerous time to ask for an explanation-they keep telling me they are reviewing it,my Dr.tells me it is just the cost of doing business.I do have Medicare and they seem Ok and pay the bill.
I think it is obscene.Has anyone else seen an increase in IVIG?[url]http://:confused[/url]

Thray,

How many grams of IVIg did you get? That will determine the IVIg total cost.

I was told off-the-record that the wholesale price of the brand of IVIg that I have used was about $48/g at some point late last year. This price was for one of the cheaper brands. The more expensive brands might be about double. With the supply problems, the price might be even higher than I suspect. Because everybody must make a profit, else why would you be in business, the price at the time of infusion is probably more like $100 to 200/g. Depending on the brand and how much you got, $24000 may not be out of line, although it does strike me as high for a single infusion, which would probably be no more than 100 g.

Sterile saline solutions really do cost about what you mention. At my infusion center, there is a patient to nurse ratio of about 4:1. Assuming a typical salary for a nurse in my area, along with the usual overhead, a nurse will cost about $300/hr. If the infusion takes 8 hours (mine do), then the cost of the nurse is about $600/hr. Even if you get little attention from the nurses, you are paying for someone to be there in case something bad happens. After all, every IVIg infusion carries some danger of life-threatening consequences.

Now, as to whether IVIg should cost what it does, let’s take a stab at it. Ig is present in the blood at about 1 to 2 percent, so it takes at least 50 to 100 grams of blood to provide 1 gram of IVIg. If a donor gives 0.5 liter, he gives about 5 to 10 g Ig. I know that a few of the suppliers pay their donors, I think about $20/donation. So the donor cost is $2/g to $4/g. However, the blood is 100% tested for all sorts of viruses and bacteria. Even with fairly cheap tests, I think the costs could be around $10/g Ig. With the costs to purify it, stablize it, and comply with the FDA cGMP (current good manufacturing process) and cGLP (laboratory), it would not surprise me to find the wholesale cost at $50 to $100/g.

Overall, I would say the bill is high, but not necessarily to the point of rip-off. Again, it depends on the brand and how much IVIg you got. It is shocking and I hope your insurance picks up the cost.

Godspeed in this.
MarkEns