To those who hold my life in your hands,
I spent ten years as an invalid, thinking all I could look forward to was getting progressively more ill, ending up in a wheelchair, and then dying. To compound matters, I was being treated more for COPD than allergic asthma, which, as it turns out, was the bigger problem. Due to my consistently high eosinophil levels, my allergies were off the charts, and it wasn’t until they WEREN’T anymore that I realized how crippling they had been for my entire life. I recently turned 60 years old, and for the past couple of years, my life has been completely different and better.
Thanks to the Dupixent injections I’ve been receiving, I am now able to sing again, with my breathing being so good that on my most recent pulmonary function tests, I performed better than most HEALTHY people. I have also been able to tolerate heat and humidity again (before the injections, I would dissolve into coughing fits if I ventured out when the weather was too hot and/or humid). I have even been getting regular exercise and performing strength-training workouts. In addition to all of that, my hay-fever type allergies have been brought under control, and I’ve been able to function better than ever before. This is saying a lot, because I am a pet sitter and dog walker, despite being allergic to both cats AND dogs!
However, my patient assistance has been exhausted for this year, and my insurance company uses something called an accumulator. This is a completely legal tactic, and it means they do not apply the patient assistance funds I received from the drug manufacturer toward my out-of-pocket maximum. I am left owing nearly $4000 (for my most recent shipment of medication and the one that I could not receive due to a lack of funding). Even if I manage to get that money, I'll still be a few hundred dollars away from meeting this year’s out-of-pocket maximum. The $5000 I am asking for will allow me to obtain the shipment which is being held until I can pay for it, pay the amount that's past due, and cover the rest of my out-of-pocket maximum so that I can not only get the medication, but schedule some tests I've had to put off due to the high copayments for them.
As a result, my therapy has been interrupted, and I now risk spending the balance of this year growing progressively more ill, like I did from August through December of last year. I almost ended up in the hospital then, and I suspect that due to a longer time without the medication, I will be even more likely to be hospitalized by the end of this year.
It’s crazy because a hospitalization will cost my insurance company far more than the expense of paying for the remaining doses I need, but those are the limits of my policy. It is based upon my husband’s income, even though he does not pay for one red cent of my healthcare expenses.
I hope you can help me!
Sincerely, Lydia Glider-Shelley
