sustainability of costs

[Shanem]

Needs some advise.
Feeling angry and taken advantage of.
so far
cost of labs $200.
to talk to PA $250.
to talk to RN to order meds $129. (was not told of this cost)
90 day supply of meds $197.20

total cost $776.20

Is this what I have to look forward to every 90 days?
Is there a cheaper way to do this?

My insurance will not cover this and my PCP will not help me with low T. This cost is not sustainable.

 

[johndoesmith]

Needs some advise.
Feeling angry and taken advantage of.
so far
cost of labs $200.
to talk to PA $250.
to talk to RN to order meds $129. (was not told of this cost)
90 day supply of meds $197.20

total cost $776.20

Is this what I have to look forward to every 90 days?
Is there a cheaper way to do this?

My insurance will not cover this and my PCP will not help me with low T. This cost is not sustainable.

Where is this?

Also, this is starting, most guys on TRT will not need labs every 90 days. They also won't have a consult every 90 days. Why you're getting charged to speak to an RN to order meds, is beyond me.

 

[Shanem]

Where is this?

Also, this is starting, most guys on TRT will not need labs every 90 days. They also won't have a consult every 90 days. Why you're getting charged to speak to an RN to order meds, is beyond me.

These are charges from Defy

 

[Vettester Chris]

Hmmm, something is amiss. I've never been charged by anyone to get the medication ordered. Maybe Dr. Saya or someone from the Defy staff can comment. Like John stated, you won't need to do labs every 3 months.

 

[johndoesmith]

These are charges from Defy

Yeah I think something's off there, either you misunderstood charges, or they charged you by accident.

$129 for the RN to call in meds is not correct, a nurse consult is $50. $250 to speak to a PA is wrong AFAIK, $250 is the new consult with MD. The follow ups are much cheaper, $120 for MD, $90 for PA I believe.

If you can get your health insurance to cover labs it'll knock more off. Ask them if they accept labs from "out of state out of network" providers.

I do a follow up every 6 months now I believe, with an RN it's $50. Test is $129, no getting around that. Should last about 3-5 months depending on dose. HCG is like $80 for 2 5000IU vials. What I did there, to save shipping, is double up the HCG order, saves $15 on shipping.

 

[Shanem]

Yeah I think something's off there, either you misunderstood charges, or they charged you by accident.

$129 for the RN to call in meds is not correct, a nurse consult is $50. $250 to speak to a PA is wrong AFAIK, $250 is the new consult with MD. The follow ups are much cheaper, $120 for MD, $90 for PA I believe.

If you can get your health insurance to cover labs it'll knock more off. Ask them if they accept labs from "out of state out of network" providers.

I do a follow up every 6 months now I believe, with an RN it's $50. Test is $129, no getting around that. Should last about 3-5 months depending on dose. HCG is like $80 for 2 5000IU vials. What I did there, to save shipping, is double up the HCG order, saves $15 on shipping.

looking at the receipt I think i did make a mistake. I did not know where the $129 came from. so it was $326. 20 for the drugs. $250 for the PA and it is marked as a recurring charge as is the labs at $205. I still cannot afford this.

 

[johndoesmith]

looking at the receipt I think i did make a mistake. I did not know where the $129 came from. so it was $326. 20 for the drugs. $250 for the PA and it is marked as a recurring charge as is the labs at $205. I still cannot afford this.

You still don't have the numbers right, $250 isn't for a PA. That's for a first consult. You cannot get another first consult.

So it's like $120 for an MD follow up, which most likely will not be every 3 months long term, and there are PAs and RNs.

Did you ask your health insurance company about labs?

Plus, the labs can get a bit simpler once you're dialed in, saving money.

The meds, well, that's probably not going to change.

http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Cost_Testosterone_TRT_Defy_Medical.aspx

 

[Dr Justin Saya MD]

As noted the $129 nurse/med fee is inaccurate.

The $250 PA fee is ONLY for the initial consult. Subsequent follow-ups can be with nurse or PA less than half the initial consult cost.

The first 3-6 months (sometimes slightly longer for complex cases) are the most labor-intensive with labs and consults (as many adjustments are often needed and made). Once a given patient is truly "dialed in", labs and consults are often pushed to every 6 months based on patient and provider comfort level.

Please contact your intake coordinator (Adam or Chelsea) if you feel that you were misled or misquoted in ANY way. They are almost universally very upfront and accurate with the information they give. It is one of our primary missions to make costs as affordable as possible (on a cash pay basis) and also ensure exceptional value by way of expert medical care.

 

[Vince]

I've been really happy with Defy cost, I know initially to get started it cost more. But after that labs and consultation very 6 months.

 

[Pranayama]

I have been pleased as well with the costs. Granted, I have been in the adjustment and tweaking phase since I started last May, but once things get ironed out the costs will decrease significantly. I look at it this way: My odds of getting the same level of care and expertise using my insurance with a local approved Dr. are very slim indeed.

I have used my insurance before for TRT, and it was very unsatisfactory for my needs and what I was looking for.

 

[Mountain Man]

I pay out of pocket for test cyp and the needles. I use a coupon from goodrx.com and I pay less than $70. The script is for the month, but it actually lasts 2 months. I getting out at around $30 per month. I'm not with Defy, I go to Morganthaler's clinic at Men's Health Boston.

Goodrx.com is a good deal for meds.

 

[Vince Carter]

Needs some advise.
Feeling angry and taken advantage of.
so far
cost of labs $200.
to talk to PA $250.
to talk to RN to order meds $129. (was not told of this cost)
90 day supply of meds $197.20

total cost $776.20

Is this what I have to look forward to every 90 days?
Is there a cheaper way to do this?

My insurance will not cover this and my PCP will not help me with low T. This cost is not sustainable.

Ya these aren't inline with what I experience as others have noted though there are real variables...labs cost money and always vary, no way around that. Med's cost money which is another individually varied aspect to what you're taking. JohnDoeSmith correctly listed some prices in the last para of his post.

One tip, check your insurance coverages for something called a "Lab Card". If you have one of these, PM and I'll tell you how to use it.

 

[Eddard]

I've started putting $5 in a drawer in my dresser per day so that when it is time for more labs and to order more medication I just go straight into that and it should cover all or most of it. It works for me, and I don't feel the loss of the $5 per day.

I'm with Defy too and I know the initial startup costs were more than they will be going forward because of the $250 initial consultation. But, for the care I've gotten so far, and the fact that I'm comfortable that I'm in good hands and dealing with real experts, it's 100% worth it to me. It's still cheaper than I was paying at another clinic where there was no follow up and I was given a cookie cutter protocol.

 

[Shanem]

As noted the $129 nurse/med fee is inaccurate.

The $250 PA fee is ONLY for the initial consult. Subsequent follow-ups can be with nurse or PA less than half the initial consult cost.

The first 3-6 months (sometimes slightly longer for complex cases) are the most labor-intensive with labs and consults (as many adjustments are often needed and made). Once a given patient is truly "dialed in", labs and consults are often pushed to every 6 months based on patient and provider comfort level.

Please contact your intake coordinator (Adam or Chelsea) if you feel that you were misled or misquoted in ANY way. They are almost universally very upfront and accurate with the information they give. It is one of our primary missions to make costs as affordable as possible (on a cash pay basis) and also ensure exceptional value by way of expert medical care.

Thank you for the information.

 

[endopa-c]

@ shanem- were you able to speak to someone? If not call me today and I'll review with you how the pricing works or when we have our follow-up I can suggest some ways to reduce costs for you. We try to make it affordable for everyone. I'm more than happy to review this with you