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Post by thall on Aug 8, 2017 21:10:19 GMT -5
Is this part of the general marketing strategy: forum.fudiabetes.org/t/voucher-for-afrezza/1541
"My husband came home from an appointment with our IM PA with an RX and voucher for me for Afrezza! (She knows I’m a fan and that insurance won’t cover it.) The voucher is from Mannkind for a 180-count titration pack. Must be we do indeed have a rep now in our region. Thai food, here I come!
The voucher reads “at no cost”!"
Are these vouchers counting as scripts?
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Post by stocker on Aug 8, 2017 22:21:36 GMT -5
Yes! Vouchers are counted as scripts.
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Post by peppy on Aug 9, 2017 7:02:47 GMT -5
Is this part of the general marketing strategy: forum.fudiabetes.org/t/voucher-for-afrezza/1541
"My husband came home from an appointment with our IM PA with an RX and voucher for me for Afrezza! (She knows I’m a fan and that insurance won’t cover it.) The voucher is from Mannkind for a 180-count titration pack. Must be we do indeed have a rep now in our region. Thai food, here I come!
The voucher reads “at no cost”!"
Are these vouchers counting as scripts? This story doesn't sound correct. At a patient visit, a physician gives a patient a medication voucher for another patient? A medication that requires physical inspection/examination and spirometry? Strange.
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Post by veritasfiliatemporis on Aug 9, 2017 7:22:08 GMT -5
think this is a stupid attempt to pass the message NRX's increase is due to free tritation packs
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Post by matt on Aug 9, 2017 7:29:05 GMT -5
Vouchers are a way to pay for the medicine as an alternative to insurance or cash out-of-pocket, but you still need a script. I have used vouchers to sample medication before and I just presented a script from my physician to the pharmacist at CVS, gave him the voucher to pay for it, and walked out with the meds. CVS would have reported that to Symphony as a script with a price equal to whatever the manufacturer reimbursed them, which is generally the wholesale cost of the medication to the pharmacy plus a dispensing fee.
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Post by peppy on Aug 9, 2017 7:34:21 GMT -5
So this women would also need a script for the voucher. There is the script. strange.
"My husband came home from an appointment with our IM PA with an RX and voucher for me for Afrezza! (She knows I’m a fan and that insurance won’t cover it.)"
I have never heard of this. It's like reading, "Roswell Alien Interview Revisited ➱ Full Version Including Intro. & Postscript "
So in this story, two people that want afrezza saying their problem is their insurance will not cover it.
demand, suppressed.
as pianoplayer replies: "Awesome! He got it from a rep? What’s your OOP cost going to be with the voucher? Maybe I should actually call the rep who contacted me back (thought she was just calling to set up the lung test, which is pointless as I can’t afford the Afrezza without insurance)."
so looking at this our problem is not demand. is not supply. it is insurance. How many people understand the way insurance works?
upon disability we will allow it. if you are blind and can not see, ok.
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Post by sportsrancho on Aug 9, 2017 7:43:52 GMT -5
Pianoplayer7008 19h Awesome! He got it from a rep? What’s your OOP cost going to be with the voucher? Maybe I should actually call the rep who contacted me back (thought she was just calling to set up the lung test, which is pointless as I can’t afford the Afrezza without insurance).
CatLady co-founder -- T1 LADA 18h The voucher reads “at no cost”!
And the reps are even setting up the lung tests...
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Post by peppy on Aug 9, 2017 7:52:56 GMT -5
Pianoplayer7008 19h Awesome! He got it from a rep? What’s your OOP cost going to be with the voucher? Maybe I should actually call the rep who contacted me back (thought she was just calling to set up the lung test, which is pointless as I can’t afford the Afrezza without insurance). CatLady co-founder -- T1 LADA 18h The voucher reads “at no cost”! And the reps are even setting up the lung tests... perhaps the reps need to test for sight loss and neuropathy. disability testing. these people can not afford afrezza with out insurance.
The reports of our benefactors assessing insurance to determine medication acceptance success rates. it is that easy.... I guess. I can dig up the thread. Deerfield Partners Snared in Probe of Leaking Consultants mnkd.proboards.com/thread/7904/deerfield-partners-charged-illegal-health
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Post by thall on Aug 9, 2017 18:16:29 GMT -5
think this is a stupid attempt to pass the message NRX's increase is due to free tritation packs Stupid or not, back in the March CC, it sounded like Mike was using the lack of vouchers to excuse reduced script numbers:
"The other thing that you don’t see is, we had a voucher program that was out there that did show up in the prescription trend that ended in January. So, there were certain amount of prescriptions each week that were free drugs going out there through the voucher program, but no longer show up in 2017."
So now they've reintroduced the voucher program, which to me suggests they felt they needed it to increase script numbers. My only other question is how extensively are they using these vouchers?
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Post by stocker on Aug 9, 2017 18:35:41 GMT -5
Maybe... Drs. have been supplying patient w large amounts of samples and not prescribing due to Ins barriers etc... which doesn't work for MannKinds bottom line. Vouchers supply patients w meds (introduction) and add to script count. Win win.
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Post by dreamboatcruise on Aug 9, 2017 18:39:31 GMT -5
Maybe... Drs. have been supplying patient w large amounts of samples and not prescribing due to Ins barriers etc... which doesn't work for MannKinds bottom line. Vouchers supply patients w meds (introduction) and add to script count. Win win. Think of it as a powerful form of advertising for MNKD as happy users share their results with others. Think of it as a way of reducing the hesitation of docs to prescribe given that MNKD will make sure patients can actually stay on Afrezza while insurance hoops are jumped through. Well worth it in my opinion.
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Post by thall on Aug 9, 2017 19:13:00 GMT -5
Maybe... Drs. have been supplying patient w large amounts of samples and not prescribing due to Ins barriers etc... which doesn't work for MannKinds bottom line. Vouchers supply patients w meds (introduction) and add to script count. Win win. Think of it as a powerful form of advertising for MNKD as happy users share their results with others. Think of it as a way of reducing the hesitation of docs to prescribe given that MNKD will make sure patients can actually stay on Afrezza while insurance hoops are jumped through. Well worth it in my opinion. What advertising? Advertising would have been making a commercial saying that a voucher was available to users for a free titration pak. Why didn't MNKD issue a press release if it was intended as a form of advertising? Why didn't they mention it during the conference call? A haphazard discovery on a diabetes forum after what Mike said back in March makes it look as though they had run out of ideas to increase script numbers and were forced to bring back vouchers.
Then there's the cost -- how much does each voucher cost Mannkind? How does it impact the bottom line? How long will it continue? Is there a limit on how many they will offer? Will vouchers change insurers minds about reimbursement?
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Post by dreamboatcruise on Aug 9, 2017 19:24:15 GMT -5
Think of it as a powerful form of advertising for MNKD as happy users share their results with others. Think of it as a way of reducing the hesitation of docs to prescribe given that MNKD will make sure patients can actually stay on Afrezza while insurance hoops are jumped through. Well worth it in my opinion. What advertising? Advertising would have been making a commercial saying that a voucher was available to users for a free titration pak. Why didn't MNKD issue a press release if it was intended as a form of advertising? Why didn't they mention it during the conference call? A haphazard discovery on a diabetes forum after what Mike said back in March makes it look as though they had run out of ideas to increase script numbers and were forced to bring back vouchers.
Then there's the cost -- how much does each voucher cost Mannkind? How does it impact the bottom line? How long will it continue? Is there a limit on how many they will offer? Will vouchers change insurers minds about reimbursement?
As for cost there is the variable cost of production, which I suspect is relatively low. I would imagine that dispensing fee might be the largest part of cost. Proboards Matt might have some idea what that is... I certainly don't. From an accounting perspective it might look more costly than it actually is since fixed costs of production (plant, equipment, quality department, etc.) would be factored into "cost of goods sold" for a voucher but in reality those would be costs incurred even if the vouchers were not being given. You can see the gross and net projections for 2H in the CC slides. That would have these voucher costs built in. IMO... we need more awareness, we need all the successful Afrezza users we can drum up.
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Post by sayhey24 on Aug 9, 2017 19:51:52 GMT -5
Think of it as a powerful form of advertising for MNKD as happy users share their results with others. Think of it as a way of reducing the hesitation of docs to prescribe given that MNKD will make sure patients can actually stay on Afrezza while insurance hoops are jumped through. Well worth it in my opinion. What advertising? Advertising would have been making a commercial saying that a voucher was available to users for a free titration pak. Why didn't MNKD issue a press release if it was intended as a form of advertising? Why didn't they mention it during the conference call? A haphazard discovery on a diabetes forum after what Mike said back in March makes it look as though they had run out of ideas to increase script numbers and were forced to bring back vouchers.
Then there's the cost -- how much does each voucher cost Mannkind? How does it impact the bottom line? How long will it continue? Is there a limit on how many they will offer? Will vouchers change insurers minds about reimbursement?
A press release would be a start. A truck full of vouchers sent to the good Senators who wanted to know about afrezza a few weeks ago wouldn't hurt. I would include Bernie Sanders and Elijah Cummings and do a focused program in Baltimore with Mr. Cummings partnered with Project Power, Damon Dash and Charles Mattocks.
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Post by thall on Aug 10, 2017 9:57:57 GMT -5
What advertising? Advertising would have been making a commercial saying that a voucher was available to users for a free titration pak. Why didn't MNKD issue a press release if it was intended as a form of advertising? Why didn't they mention it during the conference call? A haphazard discovery on a diabetes forum after what Mike said back in March makes it look as though they had run out of ideas to increase script numbers and were forced to bring back vouchers.
Then there's the cost -- how much does each voucher cost Mannkind? How does it impact the bottom line? How long will it continue? Is there a limit on how many they will offer? Will vouchers change insurers minds about reimbursement?
A press release would be a start. A truck full of vouchers sent to the good Senators who wanted to know about afrezza a few weeks ago wouldn't hurt. I would include Bernie Sanders and Elijah Cummings and do a focused program in Baltimore with Mr. Cummings partnered with Project Power, Damon Dash and Charles Mattocks. Exactly -- pass them out to the nurse educators at the AADE, to endos at the ADA meeting, to diabetics at the JDRF meetings. Explain exactly how many have been issued and when the program will stop. Explain the expected fiscal impact. Have a follow up plan for when the program ends. Be up front and bold about it. This not mentioning it anywhere and only having it discovered by it popping up on a diabetic forum makes it look like they're just trying to do something backhanded.
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