Today's Project for the Blog!

The more I get into this whole bioidentical hormone replacement subject, the more I find I need to learn. I've been getting some interesting emails lately (and keep them coming, I love it!) on a variety of subjects.

One thing I am finding a little disturbing, however, is the huge variation in costs for bioidentical hormones from state to state. Many women do not have insurance coverage period, or their insurance will not cover any portion of the cost of bioidentical hormones, so this is a concern to a lot of people. I've had more than one person tell me their BHRT monthly costs are over $300-350 per month, and I wondered how costs varied in different parts of the country.

With that in mind, I decided I would email a number of compounding pharmacies in all different parts of the country (the only state I couldn't cover was Hawaii, both pharmacies I tried had broken links in their emails). This is the email I sent to about 75-80 pharmacies:

Good afternoon! My name is Andrea Duran, and reside in Cornelius, NC. I am very happily on bioidentical hormone therapy, and have been for nearly 3 years. I am very much into educating women on this very important subject, and I have a blog that is dedicated to BHRT at holyhormones.blogspot.com . (If you are wondering about the origin of the name, everyone in NC is evangelical about something, with me it's just hormones instead of religion.)

I get questions all the time from woman about compounding pharmacies, and specifically, what is the cost for bioidentical hormone therapy. Of course, there is no one answer, but I am attempting to do an informal "study" of how much a "starter set" (for lack of a better term) would run financially in various parts of the country. I hope to get at least one compounding pharmacy in each of the 50 states to participate in this study, and when completed I will post the information on my blog.

With that in mind, if I could ask you to email me the following information:

Name, City, State, website address and Phone number of your pharmacy

The cost each for the following compounded prescriptions (all are 30 day supplies):

Progesterone 10% cream 1/4 tsp TID dispense 90g
Testosterone 1% cream 1/8 tsp. QD dispense 30g
BiEst 2.5 mg 1/4 tsp. BID dispense 60g

Does your pharmacy do mail order in state and out of state?

Does your pharmacy bill insurance companies?

If you prefer to not have your company information listed on the blog when I post the results, I absolutely understand and respect that, just let me know and I will list the pharmacy as just a city and state location. If you would prefer not to participate, that's also fine, and you do not need to respond at all.

I will make it absolutely clear on the blog that these prices are not etched in stone, that supply costs vary widely and that the prices are not quotes, merely a guideline. As I am sure you know (because your pharmacy has gotten flooded with calls!) that Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil and the Doctor's TV shows have all done entire shows on BHRT, which of course has piqued the interest of thousands of women.

I am very disappointed that none of the shows listed above have done anything to dissuade their audiences of the idea that BHRT is something that women who are wealthy can afford, and many women are automatically assuming that their insurance will not cover any portion of their therapy. In many cases I know it doesn't, but the patient won't find out unless she contacts her insurance company. It's very, very frustrating to read the posts on some of these message boards for the shows.

I thank you in advance for your time and assistance with this project, I realize this is one of the more unusual requests you may get this week. Your assistance will benefit a number of women, many of whom have never before used a compounding pharmacy and are absolutely unfamiliar with costs, procedures, etc. Oh, and if you are wondering where I got your email address, I have done some Google searching, checked a list on the Natural Woman Institute website, the AWARE project site, and in some cases gone through the IACPRX.ORG website.

With best wishes for hormonal and business health.
Andrea
Cornelius, NC

I have heard back from two pharmacies already who were gracious in sharing their information. I am going to compile the results I get and post them here on the blog in about two week's time. Two other pharmacies have responded that they do not wish to share that information, and of course, that is their right. I will keep you posted on how this "study" progresses. Have a great evening, everyone!