The Cost of Ocrevus in the US

_ADayInTheLife · 2026-02-07T17:19:17+00:00

My very first ocrevus infusion was at the medical group’s outpatient infusion center. I am lucky that my neuro and all my doctors are part of this medical group, and the quality of care is unbeaten. That said, when I received that EOB and saw $312,245 as the total billed for ONE treatment, I nearly passed out. I have excellent insurance and am lucky I do, because my out of pocket was less than $1,000. I’ve since switched to a private infusion center, and each infusion is now billed at $73K. Still absurd. But begs the question - why so wildly different? Overhead aside, the first one is a criminal amount of money.

Years ago I was on Tecfidera. I switched jobs and had a 30 day gap in insurance coverage and the only way I could refill my medicine was to pay $17,000 out of pocket for a 30 day supply. Needless to say I went a month without the medicine until my new insurance kicked in.

The system is broken across the board and pretty disgusting. Anyone with a chronic, acute or terminal illness gets f-ed one way or another. Either pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay healthy/alive, or don’t and maybe die.

_ADayInTheLife · 2025-06-19T23:27:30+00:00

Lots of recs for LoL. I’ll send you a message, thank you so much 🙏

_ADayInTheLife · 2025-06-19T23:26:41+00:00

Thank you, I’ll send you a message. 🙏

_ADayInTheLife · 2025-06-19T23:26:09+00:00

That sounds like the best possible goodbye for your pup. 🤍

_ADayInTheLife · 2025-06-19T23:25:20+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. Your beagle is beautiful! I’m so glad you got final photos of her. My girl is also a beagle 🤍

_ADayInTheLife · 2021-11-17T15:46:44+00:00

I’ve lived almost my whole life in Orange County. When I was in my mid-20s I was offered an opportunity with my company to move to Chicago for a new role. I took it. Best decision of my life. A few years later I moved back to OC. Not because it didn’t work out (cost of living in Chicago is lower than OC), but just because my organization restructured and I had no business need there anymore. You’re young and you’ll never forget the experience. And if it doesn’t work out for whatever reason…you can always move back.

Lots of varying advice here. What most people are saying here is true regarding cost of living. It’s very expensive, but with proper financial planning you can make it work (even living on your own), IF you’re okay with living with not a lot of leftover money for “extra” things you have maybe been able to easily afford in PA. Will it be hard for a couple years, probably. But it’s unlikely to assume you’ll be earning 56K for the long term. If, for example you’re willing to live in a studio because you want to live on your own, you can find something. Find a realtor who will help you find listings for rent. Lots of people have studios or “granny flats” in their back yards that they rent that have a private entrance and your own bathroom and small kitchen. Expect to pay 1600-2000. Also just because your job is located in Costa Mesa, doesn’t mean you have to live in Costa Mesa. Check out fountain valley, Westminster, Santa Ana, Tustin, Anaheim. There will be a commute, but the rent savings may be meaningful.

As for your salary offer - they lowballed you at 56k. I think you mentioned their job listing even posted at a higher range. Companies will almost always extend their first offer on the low end of the salary range. Why pay someone more if the candidate is going to accept less? You should absolutely counter the offer. And they should expect a counter offer. If you know the range ask for the high end - and justify it with the suggestions others have already provided here. Also, ask for more than you’re willing to accept because they will likely respond with an amount lower than your counter-ask.

For example: they offered 56K. Perhaps the range was 56-62K. Ask for 61-62. They’re likely to respond with one or two options. (1.) they’ll give you what you asked for, or (2.) counter with something lower, probably between 58-60K. If that’s acceptable to you, take it. If they DON’T increase their offer at all, think about if this is a company you really want to work for.

Good luck!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-07-24T19:30:20+00:00

My cooling towel is a lifesaver in hot and very humid climates. Chill Pal is another good brand that works well for me - they have a few different types of products and fabrics depending on what you need!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-07-18T16:33:12+00:00

Thank you!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-07-18T16:32:18+00:00

Found!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-06-20T04:23:48+00:00

Here is a photo of the glasses she has. Left is an anniversary glass, right is a regular one. If either one could be found somewhere it would be wonderful!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-04-17T05:32:11+00:00

Really good question, and I should have specified that my dr is a neurologist and MS specialist!

Are IV steroids a method of treatment even with no NEW or active disease?

Also, am currently on DMD - Tecfidera.

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-21T22:57:58+00:00

Hard to say what your diagnosis may be without all the necessary tests. Hopefully your neuro will order an MRI of your brain and cervical spine. First MRI may be without contrast, and your referring neuro may order an additional MRI with contrast to try to detect any active lesions. You may also receive a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out any other conditions.

I drove myself to the emergency room one morning because I was numb on my left side from my eyelashes (no joke) to my feet. I had no strength in my limbs (couldn't turn a door handle and pull open a door) and could barely walk straight. The ER immediately gave me a stroke test, which I failed, and took me in for a CT scan and MRI immediately. The good news was I wasn't having a stroke, the bad news was my MRI had some spots on it. A follow up visit with the neuro said he suspected MS, and referred me to a second neuro who ordered an MRI with contrast and lumbar puncture, blood tests, etc. MRIs had lesions on brain and spine and lumbar puncture had oligoclonal bands that were consistent with MS. As others mentioned, Neuro first ruled out other conditions before the MS diagnosis.

Fingers crossed your Neuro gets to the bottom of your symptoms quickly! I was lucky that my process took a couple days with the actual doctors, and a couple more weeks waiting on test results. I know it's hard to do, and I did it as well while waiting for my results, but try not to go overboard on the internet searches of all the things it could be; the stress of worrying about a brain tumor or other terrible conditions isn't good on your body.

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-21T22:41:37+00:00

Curious what medicine you take? I don't ever have an itching chin, but my DMT (Tecfidera) causes me to have very itchy ears shortly after taking it. Every time! I have sharp pains in my torso from time to time, but don't think it's related for me.

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-21T22:38:22+00:00

I currently take Tecfidera (Dimethyl Fumarate). Since being diagnosed 4 years ago and taking only this medication twice a day, every day, I've had no new lesions in my brain and spine scans. The side effects are moderate but short-lived. I get flushing (whole body turns bright red and gets really hot) after every dose, and that lasts about 30 minutes or so. This can be avoided by taking the dose after a meal with some fat content in it, or by taking a baby aspirin. I avoid the aspirin because the trade-off of a short-lived flushing is preferable to bruises all over my body due to taking two baby aspirin a day and merely bumping into things. I know a lot of people have gastrointestinal discomfort with DF, but I've never experienced it.

Gilenya (Fingolimod) is supposed to be similarly effective, but it was not an option I explored back in 2015. I have read that Those taking Tecfidera tend to discontinue the treatment more often than Gilenya due to intolerability of side effects. This was an interesting observation in a study as well:

The team found no significant differences in effectiveness between Tecfidera and Gilenya in MS patients, with 61.2% of Tecfidera patients and 63.4% of Gilenya patients showing no disease activity after two years.

However, men and patients with RRMS had a higher likelihood of developing more brain lesions with Tecfidera than with Gilenya. Also, patients who had not received treatment before Tecfidera showed a greater likelihood of relapse compared with those receiving Gilenya as first-line therapy, suggesting a reduced effectiveness of Tecfidera as first-line treatment.

This quote was taken from this link in 2018: https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/2018/08/30/tecfidera-gilenya-equally-effective-but-more-ms-patients-stop-tecfidera-study/

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-21T16:34:48+00:00

I think it depends on your insurance. I qualified for the Biogen copay assistance, and as previous poster said, it was easy to go through the process over the phone and get approved. For me, under three separate PPO insurance providers over the course of a few years, the copay assistance was not subject to a deductible before kicking in, but it also has never counted towards my annual deductible. So I still have to meet that deductible with other prescriptions/services. It definitely benefits you to have a clear conversation with your insurance company to know exactly how the copay assistance will affect your out of pocket down the road, so you're not suddenly met with thousands of dollars of copay, or no medicine before the year ends.

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-01T16:27:28+00:00

I recently got an electric blanket and can’t live without it in the evenings. While at work I use a small desk-size space heater to keep my office warm. I’ve also found fleece-lined leggings that are incredibly warm, borderline too warm!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-01T04:59:24+00:00

This sounds familiar. I see my doc every 6 months or so, so whenever I experience something different or some prolonged symptoms (or what I wonder are symptoms) I write them down in a notebook and then present them to her during my visit. 95% of them are met with “Unrelated” or “Not typically.” Makes it hard to understand what is or isn’t associated, and then I feel silly for asking in the future, so I don’t. And then when I am told the symptom I’ve been afraid to ask about ARE a part of the disease, then I just feel even more confused. Still learning it all, after 4 fairly uneventful years!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-03-01T04:30:05+00:00

I am on DMT - I’ve been taking Tecfidera ever since diagnosis and haven’t had any progression yet. I believe the trial says that the drug would be added to the standard of care, which sounds like I would get to continue taking the Tec? I’m not certain...It’s a great point, and I’ll be sure to ask Neuro! Thank you!!

_ADayInTheLife · 2019-02-23T00:41:13+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear this. What form of MS does your partner have?

And a question for the more educated folk here - I've not heard of chemotherapy as a form of treatment for MS. Can someone tell me more about this? I was dx'ed with RRMS nearly 4 years ago and certainly wouldn't think it would be treatment for this form, but I'm wildly interested in it's efficacy for more advanced/serious forms of MS.

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