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Post by wgreystone on Jan 17, 2019 18:10:41 GMT -5
Maybe we can’t afford to allow more than 1000 at this point. I will bet that many of these 1000 participants will not be new to Afrezza. MNKD will probably be making less $$$ from these 1000 direct purchasers vs the traditional sales channel. I am all for lowering the price dramatically and driving volume but it’s probably a difficult balancing act. If this is a straight-out marketing play, then it is exploiting the un/underinsured to get press. Good for the 1000 patients who benefit from Afrezza, but to me the positioning is disingenuous. For the first 1000 patients, MNKD will not make any profit. For the remaining direct purchasing patients, MNKD will pass the middleman savings to them. |
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Post by od on Jan 17, 2019 18:16:43 GMT -5
If this is a straight-out marketing play, then it is exploiting the un/underinsured to get press. Good for the 1000 patients who benefit from Afrezza, but to me the positioning is disingenuous. For the first 1000 patients, MNKD will not make any profit. For the remaining direct purchasing patients, MNKD will pass the middleman savings to them. Good, as it should be. Sports, I guess there is 1001+ |
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Post by travis1953 on Jan 17, 2019 20:02:56 GMT -5
Not positive but I believe the 1000 is for new patients just like AT&T or Verizon offer, you can’t already be using the product. There would be no 1001, and they could do the same thing next year. I don't see anything on the website about needing to be not on the product already. It just says, "This Offer is available to patients ages 18 and over with a valid prescription for Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder. Must be a U.S. resident, with a valid U.S. shipping address to qualify."
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Post by uvula on Jan 17, 2019 20:32:03 GMT -5
The PR made it sound like the first 1000 got the great price but everyone would get some sort of cost savings.
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Post by mango on Jan 17, 2019 23:22:01 GMT -5
The PR made it sound like the first 1000 got the great price but everyone would get some sort of cost savings. They did both. One for uninsured/underinsured and one for commercially insured. The Direct Purchase Program and the enhanced copay and savings card program ($15/30day supply for 12 months). |
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Post by mango on Jan 17, 2019 23:28:18 GMT -5
Maybe we can’t afford to allow more than 1000 at this point. I will bet that many of these 1000 participants will not be new to Afrezza. MNKD will probably be making less $$$ from these 1000 direct purchasers vs the traditional sales channel. I am all for lowering the price dramatically and driving volume but it’s probably a difficult balancing act. If this is a straight-out marketing play, then it is exploiting the un/underinsured to get press. Good for the 1000 patients who benefit from Afrezza, but to me the positioning is disingenuous. They aren't getting any press, and certainly aren't exploiting the uninsured/underinsured  They also updated the Afrezza savings program for the commercially insured who can now pay $15 for a 30 day supply for 12 months. |
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Post by mango on Jan 17, 2019 23:37:18 GMT -5
Two enquires/opinions. 1. Since Symphony uses rx numbers from pharmacies, will these new program rxs be excluded from the weekly Friday numbers? 2. Would be nice if MNKD, once the 1000 people are enrolled to put out a PR. Something like 1000 people were enrolled in under 1 week. Scripts had better increase significantly (up by at least several hundred) over the next 3 to 4 months, or shorts will be screaming how Mannkind cannot even (practically) give it (Afrezza) away. If Eagle is not reporting the new scripts to Symphony, then Mannkind should make that known so shorts do not misrepresent the script numbers being released each week. And I had a Big Pharma conspiracy thought. If BP is as active at hurting Mannkind and frustrating Afrezza's acceptance as some claim, is it remotely possible for agents / puppets of BP to sign up for many (if not most) of the 1000 registrations in order to keep them out of the hands of those they were really meant for? Afrezza still requires a prescription under this program, so Shorts would be screaming at the wrong people if that happened. Why should MannKind alert the Shorts that Eagle is not reporting the script numbers? If Shorts did that then there would be 1000 really stupid Shorts. |
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Post by od on Jan 18, 2019 8:55:54 GMT -5
If this is a straight-out marketing play, then it is exploiting the un/underinsured to get press. Good for the 1000 patients who benefit from Afrezza, but to me the positioning is disingenuous. They aren't getting any press, and certainly aren't exploiting the uninsured/underinsured They also updated the Afrezza savings program for the commercially insured who can now pay $15 for a 30 day supply for 12 months. If the intent of the Direct Purchase Program was to get press, then yes, the hook is the un/underinsured (my conclusion from the Press Release). Call it what you will. |
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Post by travis1953 on Jan 18, 2019 9:02:57 GMT -5
If this is a straight-out marketing play, then it is exploiting the un/underinsured to get press. Good for the 1000 patients who benefit from Afrezza, but to me the positioning is disingenuous. They aren't getting any press, and certainly aren't exploiting the uninsured/underinsured They also updated the Afrezza savings program for the commercially insured who can now pay $15 for a 30 day supply for 12 months. As I understood it, they removed the necessity to be insured to get the discount card. |
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Post by peppy on Jan 19, 2019 14:05:00 GMT -5
Terms and Conditions for Direct Purchase Program Offer This Offer is available to patients ages 18 and over with a valid prescription for Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder. Must be a U.S. resident, with a valid U.S. shipping address to qualify. By participating in this Offer, you acknowledge and represent that you will not seek or accept reimbursement for purchases made under this program from any insurance program or third party reimbursement provider. This Offer is void where prohibited by law. MannKind Corporation reserves the right to rescind, revoke or amend this program without notice. For the first 1,000 registrants under this initial Direct Purchase Program Offer, prices are guaranteed for 12 months from time of first fill. Currently, eligible, enrolled patients pay: $120 for a single 90 count box of 4, 8 or 12 Unit Afrezza Cartridges or $199 for any 180 count Afrezza combination box of 4, 8, and/or 12 Units.Program is facilitated by Eagle Pharmacy, LLC. Participants are required to register directly with Eagle Pharmacy and provide all information necessary to fulfill the prescription, as determined by Eagle Pharmacy. Payment information will be collected at time of registration, however, patients will not be charged until the product is dispensed by the pharmacy (after receipt of a complete, valid prescription). Once dispensed, all sales are considered final (no returns or refunds). Maximum quantity of 3 packs per month, per patient. Each pack will be billed at the applicable Offer price. Offer includes shipping charges and is valid for one shipment per month. Orders for more than one pack will be processed in a single shipment. For additional important information regarding Afrezza, please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNING, Medication Guide, and Instructions for Use. www.insulinsavings.com=================================================================================================================== alrighty then. if posted prior, it is being posted once again. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTCsK6DQhSQ&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1fGI-Jjf40itAnino1vJbUo6xKroeLZwrlTyWhWwj5LCUfr_wImEFC8NM |
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Post by agedhippie on Jan 19, 2019 14:32:43 GMT -5
They aren't getting any press, and certainly aren't exploiting the uninsured/underinsured They also updated the Afrezza savings program for the commercially insured who can now pay $15 for a 30 day supply for 12 months. As I understood it, they removed the necessity to be insured to get the discount card. You have to be insured for the co-pay card (tricky to reduce a co-pay to $15 if there is no co-pay  ), but you don't have to be insured for the Eagle Pharmacy deal. |
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Post by itellthefuture777 on Jan 19, 2019 14:41:01 GMT -5
What? And skip my morning macchiato? No thanks!  I can imagine...all the large pharma in the hearings on their high prices...and then Mannkind gets a mention by Congress...How is it..this 1% company has what appears to better outcomes..can sell insulin at $4 a day..I mean..lower hypos..no shot..free inhaler..no weight gain..why is your slower in and out insulins..so expensive? Ohhhhh! So.less than ten days is the Cummings Congressional hearings on Large insulin pharma prices...hmm..this is what the last Afrezza patent said to Congress...https://youtu.be/OZPKIh57G0s |
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Post by travis1953 on Jan 19, 2019 16:06:49 GMT -5
I did not understand this from the conference call, referring to the process of using the new program: "And in that process, it will generate a prior authorization automatically on the back end to the doctor’s office so that we find those get approved pretty much within 30 days, 80% of our patients are approved on Afrezza."
How will it automatically generate a prior authorization? As I understand the routine, if a prior authorization is required, the doctor has to request it ahead of time in order to get insurance coverage. Where does "automatic" enter into the picture of using the program?
My impression is the idea of the program to allow the patient to get afrezza while waiting for the PA, but I don't see where automatic enters in unless when the prescription is filled, the pharmacy asks the doctor to get prior authorization.
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Post by travis1953 on Jan 19, 2019 16:12:06 GMT -5
As I understood it, they removed the necessity to be insured to get the discount card. You have to be insured for the co-pay card (tricky to reduce a co-pay to $15 if there is no co-pay ), but you don't have to be insured for the Eagle Pharmacy deal. What was said in the call:
"The new co-pay card we are launching and how they are different. So this card is a two in one card. So what happens, last year we had a voucher program that gave you one month free. Now what will happen is the patients go to the pharmacy, they’ll download the card, they can use it on their Apple wallet or a Google platform and they can use that if -- it will - they won’t even know if they are covered or not."
How do you interpret "they can use that if...they are covered or not"? Presumably, if it required insurance, they couldn't use it if they weren't covered.
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Post by peppy on Jan 19, 2019 17:29:38 GMT -5
You have to be insured for the co-pay card (tricky to reduce a co-pay to $15 if there is no co-pay ), but you don't have to be insured for the Eagle Pharmacy deal. What was said in the call:
"The new co-pay card we are launching and how they are different. So this card is a two in one card. So what happens, last year we had a voucher program that gave you one month free. Now what will happen is the patients go to the pharmacy, they’ll download the card, they can use it on their Apple wallet or a Google platform and they can use that if -- it will - they won’t even know if they are covered or not."
How do you interpret "they can use that if...they are covered or not"? Presumably, if it required insurance, they couldn't use it if they weren't covered.
You get to try it for one month, not knowing if your insurer covers afrezza? =============================================================================================================== This is different than direct purchase. Direct purchase is, For the first 1,000 registrants under this initial Direct Purchase Program Offer, prices are guaranteed for 12 months from time of first fill. Currently, eligible, enrolled patients pay: $120 for a single 90 count box of 4, 8 or 12 Unit Afrezza Cartridges or $199 for any 180 count Afrezza combination box of 4, 8, and/or 12 Units. Program is facilitated by Eagle Pharmacy, LLC. Participants are required to register directly with Eagle Pharmacy |
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), but you don't have to be insured for the Eagle Pharmacy deal.
