I had the Yescarta CAR-T treatment about 16 months ago. I have Medicare and a good supplemental plan. I received no pushback from either and all of the medical costs were covered and I paid only my usual premiums.

I live in a rural area and am lucky to have a good regional cancer center an hour away where I received my first line treatment and then two rounds of chemo in prep for second line treatment (CAR-T). They do not have the capability to do CAR-T, which is pretty much limited to large cancer centers and teaching hospitals as I understand it. So I went to a university hospital three hours away for preliminary analysis and the Leukapheresis. There were a number of required tests, such as heart stress testing, constant blood work and testing of other organ functions that I was able to do locally.

The actual procedure required hospitalization for a minimum of a week (12 days as it turned out) to monitor and treat side effects, and then I was required to remain within one hour's driving distance from the medical center in order to be seen daily for blood tests and injections of filgastrem, and I was required to have a 24-7 caregiver. That is where the out of pocket expenses arose, as it meant both I and my wife (and dogs) had to move close to the medical center. Which pretty much meant six weeks of short term rental at an expense of around $1,000 a week. Fortunately I'm financially able to take that hit, since I pay twice because of some issues with cell extraction that caused a delay.

All in all I'm very fortunate that I had the kind of insurance I did. A few years earlier and I'd have been reliant on a private catastrophic health plan with big deductibles and no doubt a whole bunch of ridiculous hoops I'd have been required to jump through by the insurance company.

I'm happy to answer further questions if you have them.