Hello all! My name is Jaimie Korelitz, one of Andy Fine's "Girls" and best friends from college at UW-Madison.
Andy found the love of his life when he met Jeremy at the Weber Grill Restaurant in 2005. Jeremy and Andy represent everything that is beautiful and amazing about the commitment of marriage.
Here is note from Andy:
This fall, my husband, Jeremy Owens, was diagnosed with ALS.
Currently, there are two ALS drugs that may be prescribed to people living with the disease that have been proven to slow the progression and extend life in different ways.
In October, our private practice Neurologist prescribed Riluzole (one of the two ALS drugs that has been proven to slow progression) to Jeremy.
Our insurance company approved the Riluzole prescription, and Jeremy has been on Riluzole since October.
Our private practice neurologist then referred us to the Northwestern ALS Clinic for further treatment.
On January 21st we had our first appointment at the Northwestern ALS Clinic, where our neurologist there additionally prescribed Radicava (the other of the two ALS drugs that has been proven to slow progression in a different way than Riluzole) to Jeremy.
Both of our neurologists believe the combination of Jeremy taking both Riluzole and Radicava together is the best way to protect his nerves and his breathing, slow his ALS progression, and extend his life.
That said, our insurance company denied Jeremy coverage for the Radicava prescription.
Our Northwestern ALS Clinic neurologist appealed that denial in order to challenge the decision for this second necessary ALS drug for Jeremy, and our insurance company denied Jeremy coverage for the Radicava prescription a second time.
Our Northwestern ALS Clinic neurologist then filed a third appeal of the denial in order to challenge the decision for this second necessary ALS drug for Jeremy, which resulted in a 45-day external review.
After 40 days of the 45 day review, on March 18th, the independent reviewer made a final decision to "uphold the denial" even though both of our neurologists (private practice and at Northwestern) believe this medication is necessary for Jeremy.
Unfortunately, we have now exhausted all appeal options for insurance coverage of the Radicava for Jeremy. Once our insurance company has denied our first level, second level, and external appeal, the external appeal is the final option we have available. At this point, there is no other option available to try to get approval for coverage for Jeremy's medication.
Without insurance, Jeremy's Radicava prescription will cost us $6,791.03 for the first month's "starter kit," then $4,850.73 for each month of medication after that - which we cannot afford.
We know this is an exorbitant amount of money to pay for medication, but this is Jeremy's life here, and we are going to do everything we can to get him the medication he needs to extend his life as long as possible - and time is so important with getting him started on the medication.
Right now, our goal is to immediately cover Jeremy's medication. But beyond his medication, any assistance could also help cover expensive medical care, treatments, medical support, medical equipment, home modifications, and other necessary accommodations going forward.
If there is absolutely any way you can help us, we would be forever grateful.
With our sincerest gratitude and respect, and our whole hearts,
Andy and Jeremy