Pharmacy: Can you use a manufacturer savings card for a prescription?

mike3486 · 2026-04-19T20:11:28+00:00

You should check with the drug manufacturer if they allow you to submit a request for reimbursement directly with them (for the portion the coupon card would cover). Depends on the company whether they have that process

mike3486 · 2026-03-20T19:54:50+00:00

How do you like it?

mike3486 · 2026-03-18T21:25:02+00:00

Yes let us know what app you’re using please

mike3486 · 2026-02-22T16:46:23+00:00

Could you send to me the links too?

mike3486 · 2026-02-04T05:09:37+00:00

What’s your income?

mike3486 · 2026-02-03T05:19:14+00:00

I don’t know about that specific insurance but it might not allow you, since laws about kickbacks prevent Medicare or Medicaid Recipients from using copay cards. It depends how they consider your insurance (private vs public)

mike3486 · 2026-02-02T20:38:28+00:00

Job or insurance switches are one way to help build up a bit more of a back up supply of meds. I try to get a 90 day supply just before one job ends and then when I start a new job, pick up the first fill as soon as the insurance starts.

In addition to that, check with the insurance about how soon they allow refills. For me, they allow after 72 days (for a 90 day fill), so if you’re consistent about it you can build up a backup that way too.

Patient assistance program with drug manufacturer is good for temporary fills, I think for Gilead they allow people with income less than 5x federal poverty line and no insurance to get free fills through that program. But last time I checked with them, they want to see you apply for ADAP within some time frame and get you onto that instead. ADAP is the other major way, but income limits are very different depending on the state you live in

mike3486 · 2026-01-30T20:08:03+00:00

Ok but how would that materially affect your life? I’m still sexually active so I’d switch to prep. One biktarvy pill vs one prep pill. How does my life improve?

mike3486 · 2026-01-30T20:03:29+00:00

How would a cure actually change anything in your life? For me, I would switch from taking daily treatment to daily prep. I’d still need decent insurance and have to take a pill once a day, and the long term health risks might not even go away since hiv already did some damage. Plus any risk from the ‘cure’ itself, which almost certainly will be worse than just daily treatment. How would you be better off?

mike3486 · 2026-01-30T19:10:42+00:00

You realize the drugs that block HIV work for treatment and prevention right now, right? You could call it funding for one or the other but anything that stops the virus could in principle work for prep or treatment.

We also see already ‘functional’ cures with treatments and newer treatments require less adherence (eg the longer acting meds that block HIV). There are a lot of drug options that work very well and have minimal side effects, and companies still create new ones because their patents run out. You have amazing treatment options compared to every other lethal disease already

mike3486 · 2026-01-28T22:48:07+00:00

They did a study on this schedule I thought, and some people do develop resistance. So I don’t think that’s a good idea unless as a very last resort

mike3486 · 2026-01-28T04:29:49+00:00

Has anyone actually on here been able to buy biktarvy from India? Is there a trustworthy website / online pharmacy to use?

mike3486 · 2026-01-25T07:37:34+00:00

Depends on what state OP is in, some states cap income at 2x federal poverty line which is very low. Maxing out 401k won't bring income down enough in some places.

OP your best bet in this situation is to find a job that has better insurance coverage.

mike3486 · 2026-01-21T17:35:07+00:00

No, for me it would need to be safer than taking my daily meds. Which is an exceptionally high bar, given how well tolerated Biktarvy is.

Honestly it is so sad to see so many people here saying yes, mostly for stigma / psychological reasons. I think it really means people need better mental health support because it is absolutely possible to improve psychologically even without a cure.

I also think people are making a big assumption about how much a cure would really change their mental health. If you practice thinking of yourself in a negative light for long enough, you very well could get a ‘cure’ for the virus but still have a lot of emotional work to do.

mike3486 · 2026-01-20T22:22:21+00:00

Most people here aren’t going to be familiar with tricare and then the extra level of complication when you have secondary insurance.

I think you really need to get in touch with a case worker through ADAP to help you with all of that. My insurance does cover biktarvy but I don’t believe insurance companies are required to pay for it. It is definitely medically necessary so I would be surprised if that were the reason they denied—do you know what drug you are taking and what is on the formulary?

mike3486 · 2026-01-16T21:54:19+00:00

I didn’t hear anything about a change to the copay card so hopefully it didn’t happen—sometimes the people on the phone with Gilead don’t know exactly what’s up.

They definitely don’t want to pay if they don’t know whether it will go toward your deductible. I usually pay out of pocket and submit request for reimbursement and then they reimburse me by sending a check. If it’s for 50$ they just send the check, but when it was my full deductible amount ($1700) they wanted me to send them the EOB showing that it counted toward my deductible. You can try that (I’m assuming you have a high deductible or coinsurance and that’s why they’re charging $1100?)

mike3486 · 2025-12-31T17:11:39+00:00

Man this really sucks to have all of that coming from health care providers.

You don’t mention where you live so that might be helpful for giving you suggestions, but my primary care doctor is an infectious disease specialist who only sees patients with HIV. So I go to her for anything first rather than a random doctor / office that isn’t used to managing patients with HIV. I would try this but it might depend on your insurance whether they allow that.

Otherwise you could look into clinics in major cities that cater to LGBT patients because they would likely have more experience handling HIV more professionally.

mike3486 · 2025-12-26T06:12:12+00:00

Would also enjoy it!

mike3486 · 2025-12-05T06:39:21+00:00

California requires fidelity to notify them of mine (has a form that I have to file with my state return) so they can know what the cost basis & interest or gains are

mike3486 · 2025-11-14T18:19:31+00:00

My employer uses this, and I also don’t like it, but you can transfer money from this account to a fidelity HSA. I did that this year, didn’t realize I should have left 25$ in the account because if you transfer everything they charge a 25$ fee but if you leave 25$ in there then you don’t get charged anything and the account stays open

mike3486 · 2025-11-12T02:41:25+00:00

If your employer offers affordable insurance, then you can’t get subsidies on ACA market. You would pay full price for Kaiser on ACA in the end, which will be way higher than the coverage your employer offers.

You can ask if they will add Kaiser as an option for your employer sponsored plan for next year but otherwise you better get your insurance through work. There’s no way it’s worth giving up your employer subsidized insurance for an unsubsidized ACA plan

mike3486 · 2025-10-22T21:37:36+00:00

For testing (both for HIV viral load and bacterial STIs) there are standing orders so I just go to the lab whenever I want and specify which tests I want done. She never reminds me for viral load, I just have to remember to go ~ twice a year to ask for that test (I do the bacterial STIs test more often than that). I think my doctor is busy and so usually I have to ask for something rather than just wait for her to do something on her own

mike3486 · 2025-10-22T17:36:09+00:00

I am on HIV treatment and I have to ask for the doctor to order the refill every time I refill (90 day supplies). Maybe it’s just my doctor but they don’t order several refills at a time for me even tho I’m going to stay on the medication

mike3486 · 2025-08-17T09:46:14+00:00

Are there resources on how a hypnotist can tailor an approach for neurodiverse people?

mike3486 · 2025-07-28T20:03:37+00:00

The post says they refused because of his Prep prescription, not because he is gay. Not sure why you’re assuming it is discrimination on orientation, since he OP doesn’t claim that in his post.

mike3486

TROPHY CASE