Restasis in canada is it covered by any insurance plan?

[Eyeproblems]

So I went to fill my doctors first ever restasis perscription. It was 110 dollars. Ok with me if it lasts 3 months, then I found out its a 1 month supply!

Its not covered by my low end blue cross coverage, I will have to phone tomorrow and see if a better plan will cover it.

Does anyone in canada get restasis and have it covered by insurance?

My doctor says i really need this because my eye inflamation and dry eyes are very bad, but i also cant afford 110 every month!

[Guest]

Don't worry... it might last you longer than 1 month... I use my Restasis 4 times per day in each eye, AND I make sure i use the vial until it's empty... with that regimen, a box of 60 vials lasts me a bit over a month. If you are only using it the usual twice daily, then that box of 60 vials will last at least a couple of months as long as you use the vials until they are empty. Just be really careful not to contaminate the tip of the vial once you open it.

Also, if you have Blue Cross, you might be able to get some of your artificial tears covered, which will save you some money that you can then put towards Restasis. Here in Manitoba, Blue Cross will pay for anything that the provincial pharmacare program pays for... I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get coverage, but now all of my artificial tears are covered by Blue Cross... Yippee! (I have a plan max of $450 per year, but it's better than nothing!)

re: insurance coverage for Restasis ... I can't get it covered either because it's so new... I plan on checking once a month or so to see if anything has changed...

[Aaron77]

Blue Cross covers my Restasis prescription - I did have problems trying to get the Restasis from Shoppers Drugmart though - they seemed to think the drug did not exist and I had to go in to the drugstore a few times and eventually they got in contact with my doctors office and got the whole thing straightened out.

Maybe some people at Blue Cross need to be educated about Restasis? Maybe its just the plan?

[Guest]

Wow! Maybe you have one of the higher-end blue cross plans?? In any case, that's great news!

[Eyeproblems]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually they told me its 15 days! Not 30.

However i dont see a problem using the vial until its empty like SAAG mentioned as long as its in a safe spot.

Also right now im only using it once a day, it burns my eyes right now, blurs my vision, and worse increases discharge. Eye discharge was a huge problem for me with eye irritation. For whatever reason it largely went away the last few months, I dont know why. But now using restasis its listed as a side effect and what a terrible side effect. The mucus discharge is mainly what was irritating my eyes most.