THE STORIES

Living with rheumatoid arthritis for many years, Chantelle in Boston, MA has experienced the consequences of Fail First policies first hand. Passing bill H791 can help regulate and reduce the impact of Step Therapy.

Janet was refused a prescription of Savella. Her pharmacy filled Effexor in place of the Savella that was prescribed for her fibromyalgia.

Heather spent TWO YEARS in physical therapy that didn’t work for her. Begging for an MRI, she was told it was unreasonable. When she finally got the MRI, only then did she find out she needed surgery. The step therapy only continued from there.

After going through step therapy, Paul started the US Pain Foundation. He is still unsure if more damage has been done to him from his disease, or the fail first system he had to go through.

Daniel was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 11 and then diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, and hypertension (high blood pressure. He has had to deal with many prescriptions, and even more step therapy policies.

Meredith’s doctor prescribed Enbrel, but her insurance company would not pay for it because injectables were not covered under her plan. She had to file several grievances before she was able to get the medication her doctor prescribed.

While treating her RA, Maria has tried Gold injections, Plaquenil, methotrexate, Arava, Imuran, Enbrel, Ornecia, Humira, Celebrex, Feldene and prednisone. As her disease progressed, her doctor prescribed difference medications to quell her symptoms. With each new prescription, there was a new approval process.

Tessa is on a cycle to change biologics every eighteen months. With every change in biologic, she has to deal with 60 days of waiting for approval from her insurance company.

After Althea’s insurance company refused to pay for her original prescription, she had to go through the process of obtaining a new prescription by setting up another doctor’s appointment.