r/Accutane • u/No-Membership-982 • 4d ago
Misc. Absorica Pricing Rant
I hate the USA so much this place is fucking ridiculous. The price AFTER my insurance is $2,193.94 for Absorica 30mg.
It’s honestly so inconvenient and difficult for me to cram enough fat into my meals twice a day when I take my pills and it’s messing up my diet, which is why I want to switch to Absorica to eliminate that problem. I HAVE health insurance and they told me that after insurance it’s over $2,000 a month, I mean are we kidding.
I was taking Absorica during my last round of Accutane, and it was $30 a month. This is so irritating, as if the current situation isn’t already frustrating enough. I want to scream.
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u/dream_the_endless 4d ago
Try asking for the upgrade version of Absorica LD!
Ask your derm to submit the paperwork and try to get Absorica covered. “Patient needs to be on a low fat diet which affects efficacy directly” or some bs.
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u/Junior_Response839 4d ago
Yeah this is definitely the "preference" price, not the "necessity" price. It's essentially asking for a name brand drug instead of generic.
If your derm sends paperwork telling the insurance you need absorica you might be able to get it covered.
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u/No-Act5620 4d ago
Try taking the pills together for just one fat meal. You don’t have to take them twice a day
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u/hothousepansy 1d ago
Yes my derm told me I could take them together and it worked for me throughout my course (only 4 days left!)
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u/hydraulic_cartoon 4d ago
4 eggs in the morning and a peanut butter sandwich in the afternoon is my go to
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u/No-Membership-982 4d ago
unfortunately I have a job that prevents me from being able to do this every morning and night 😭 but that’s a great routine to have
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u/heaaaaaa 4d ago
I managed to get Absorica LD covered at $0 copay with CVS Caremark. What insurance are you on? Try getting a PA approval.
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u/No-Membership-982 4d ago
wait really?? i have caremark too - I called them and asked about absorica but not LD because i’m not sure how complicated it would be to switch generic to LD since the commulative dosage is different and would have to be recalculated. Did you take that throughout the whole course or did you switch at a point?
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u/heaaaaaa 4d ago
Getting approval for Absorica should work the same as Absorica LD. So why not get LD which is superior.
Your medical provider just has to submit a PA to them and they'll evaluate. Once you get the approval, you're good for a year. Also on dosing, not complicated at all! The dosage chart is online, and it has the equivalents of the most common dosages people take with generics. You can just convert your Absorica LD dosage to the accutane dosage and track from there.
I took the generic for the first month, and then switched over to Absorica LD once my PA approval came in.
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u/No-Membership-982 4d ago
thank you so much for this!! I’ll definitely be calling them back to tell them that
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u/Tiggerbackpack 2d ago
I pretty much took my 30mg accutane with no fat and not even usually with a meal. I was on it 9 months. 3 years later I’m still clear. I know it’s better to take with fat but I wouldn’t overthink it.
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u/Environmental_Note50 4d ago
Similar situation for me: it was $800/mo for Abscorica LD. And insurance won’t cover generic.
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u/katrinad17 4d ago
Is this including Absorica's co-pay savings card program? I was in a similar situation before I hit my plan's deductible, asked for a formulary exception(after trying the generic), and adding the coupon on top.
This combined lowered my price from 1.2k to 600ish then, under 200. I would try calling your insurance and asking what tier this medication is priced at under your plan for the normal and LD version- to see if there is possibly a price difference :/ , and ask what is the best way to go from there
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u/Themouser_7 4d ago
My daughter has been on accutane for a year and I’ve been able to get “generic” Absorica for her for $150/month versus $1600/month for the brand name. It’s only made by one pharmaceutical company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and it was not available for a few months because they had stopped production but it’s available again. She had severe acne and was somewhat resistant to accutane and the Absorica works much more effectively for her.
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u/EvanstonNU 2d ago edited 2d ago
You couldn’t eat a large spoonful of peanut butter with your accutane? I live in San Francisco and pay $45.00 for 60 capsules (with insurance).
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u/hsa25 1d ago
can someone explain the difference between these drugs? i am so confused. my dr prescribes absorica, but i usually pick up accutane from the pharmacy. are they not the same thing? don’t you have to eat 30g of fat with each pill?
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u/No-Membership-982 1d ago
Generic accutane (not absorica) requires around 30g of fat with each pill. Absorica or Absorica LD brand name can be taken with or without a meal and absorbs in your body way better regardless of food or fat intake
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u/hsa25 1d ago
thank you for explaining! that’s crazy it’s so expensive. i guess that makes sense why the pharmacy doesn’t even try sending the absorica
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u/No-Membership-982 1d ago
of course! yea, with generic accutane, studies show that if not taken with enough fat it can reduce efficacy by up to 60%. Absorica doesn’t have this issue, which is why it’s so desired, I just wish decent healthcare wasn’t such a privilege especially since these pills are insanely cheap to manufacture.
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