Unbelievable 6/26/2017

I started Rituxan treatment (infusions) 2 weeks ago, with the regimen set at one infusion per week for 4 weeks. I had one on the 12th, and one on the 21st. Everything seemed to be moving along. I had minimal reactions to the drug. Then came the call from the Rheumatologist's office: it seems that they had screwed up the billing to Medicare and Medicare at first refused payment. So they were calling to cancel my next treatment until they got a promise of payment. I called their billing office to tell them that I would give them a check for $13K (the list price for the 2 treatments). They will not take it. I called Medicare to find out what the issue was, and was told that the provider has to contact them to find the correct billing code.

This morning, I called Genetech, the manufacturer of Rituxan to find out what, if any, ramifications there might be for changing the dosing schedule from the once a week schedule. They told me that clinical trials for this vasculitis were done based on once a week dosing, and that they did not have any data on anything else.

So, I have no more treatment until the Rheumatologist hears from Medicare. Unbelievable.