CML Patient interested in becoming a nurse

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I'm a CML survivor of 9 years, and I'm interested in becoming an oncology nurse. Each day I take 800mg of Gleevec, which retails at $24,000/month. When I began taking the meds the cost was $3000, so there seems no end in sight to the price increase. I spoke to a friend who is a nurse who told me that his insurance covers about 90% of his Rx costs. That would be about $36000/year for me for my meds. I'm trying get a sense from other nurses what they pay in Rx costs. I'm sure it differs, depending on union contracts and maybe region. I wonder if folks here would be so kind as to provide me with any information they have about a nurse's health care costs so that I can begin to make a cost benefit analysis. Thank you.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

With a suppressed immune system nursing might not be the best path to get prescription coverage

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

There are patient assistance programs to aide with prescription programs. Going to school for 3-4 years to hopefully secure a healthcare job with good prescription benefits while actively undergoing treatment may not be your best choice.

My last job would have offered $20 towards that prescription. Yes $20 towards Rx that retails for thousands.(Like many employers they elected to go with "minimal essential coverage" that mandates almost no Rx coverage but birth control is free! Not life saving drugs like albuterol and an EpiPen)

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Thanks for the responses, folks. I hope to get more input on this. I appreciate the concern from OnOn2RN. Fortunately, because I have achieved Major Molecular Response, my immune system is not suppressed. What I'm looking for, specifically, is along the lines of what JustBeachyNurse posted, information about your employer's Rx coverage. This will help me get a sense of what I would expect to pay out of pocket for Gleevec should I become a working nurse myself. Perhaps folks can send me a PM with that information. Your responses are greatly appreciate because they will help me know if nursing is a realistic career choice for me. Thank you.

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I just realized that I cannot receive PMs here.

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I can tell you what responses you're going to get -- that nurses have a wide range of healthcare and rx coverage, ranging from super to might-as-well-not-have-any-at-all, depending on the individual employer. You're not going to be able to do any kind of meaningful "cost benefit analysis" because you're not going to be able to predict what kind of coverage you might have as an employed RN. I agree that going to nursing school in order to (try to) get good healthcare coverage seems like an odd approach to take.

Do you have any serious interest in nursing beyond knowing that your friend has good rx coverage?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I just realized that I cannot receive PMs here. If you prefer to send me a personal message, I can be contacted at (redacted)

You can receive as long as you have verified your email when signing up. You cannot send/respond until meet the minimum activity threshold.

Never recommended to post your personal email in a highly indexed, internationally read public message board unless you like spam.

Perceived prescription benefits is not the best reason to pursue a nursing career. There are many options that are likely better choices. Even allied health such as ultrasound, diagnostic imaging, PT/OT/SLP (or assistant) if you can get into public education as a special education science or math teacher you have access to an excellent benefit plan. Lowest out of pocket benefit for life? Run for public office & win on the state or federal level. Then you get to choose your staff of lackeys!

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I'm not interested in becoming a nurse to get health benefits, per se. What I want is to pursue my interest in a meaningful nursing career where I can make a difference in peoples' lives. But I also have to look out for #1. If I didn't have to worry about my Rx costs, I would have gone to school for nursing years ago.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I'm not interested in becoming a nurse to get health benefits, per se. What I want is to pursue my interest in a meaningful nursing career where I can make a difference in peoples' lives. But I also have to look out for #1. If I didn't have to worry about my Rx costs, I would have gone to school for nursing years ago.

That makes more sense however what contracts & benefits are available today change at least annually and once you go through nursing school, graduate & find your first nursing job the benefits are likely to be grossly different than they are today. Different plans have different formularies & drug exclusions that change monthly. I understand your thought process but don't base your decision on current benefits that others may have available now. Honestly contracted teachers under the state benefit plans have lower premiums and out of pocket costs than by more than 60-80% of what I have access to as a nurse. Unlike 20 years ago when full time hospital employees had no cost sharing for premiums and very low in network out of pocket costs. The out of pocket and premium costs that I paid to COBRA those hospital benefits 10+ years ago is 1/10 of what I pay in employer subsidized premiums now.

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Well every single insurance plan is different so there are literally THOUSANDS of different plans and different costs. For my insurance I pay nearly $500/month and my Rx co pays vary. Tier 1 = 20, Tier 2 = 50, Tier 3 = 80% of the cost of the meds. So many of the Rx's my hubby takes are cheaper if they are not ran through the insurance, but instead are filled at a variety of pharmacies that offer different discounted Rx's. I wouldn't pick nursing for good insurance. Most of our plans suck anymore. I would go to school to be a banker if I could do things over. Then you could afford a decent insurance program on your own - regardless of your employer.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I don't intend to demean anyone, but at times lay folks forget that health care is a business. We are employees, just like everyone else. Our industry is in a severe cost containment crunch, reeling from reimbursement decreases on all fronts. The most common cost containment strategy for healthcare is to control labor costs. This means fewer staff and slashing the costs of employee benefits. In fact, employee benefits in healthcare organizations are not at all competitive with other industries that have a much better profit margin.

I know of several organizations that have either already implemented the dreaded "consumer plan" insurance or they are planning to do so. This type of plan does not really provide any sort of insurance... only an amount of money that the employee is supposed to use to purchase his/her own plan. YIKES!! It may be a great deal for the young & healthy folks, but not so much for everyone else.

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Specializes in Heme Onc.

I work in Heme/Onc, so I know that imatinib costs can be unbearable. I just searched it on our prescription plan. 12% covered. The remaining 88% is up to the payee.

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