No Insurance Coverage for Osteoporosis Medication

Teriparatide (a prescription medicine used to treat osteoporosis) has been removed from the list of medicines covered by insurance for 45 days now, the head of Iranian Rheumatology Association, Ahmadreza Jamshidi, said. “Seven thousand patients have been suddenly denied insurance coverage of teriparatide, which is the only prescription medicine used to treat severe osteoporosis,” he said. “Teriparatide treatment’s duration for patients with osteoporosis is 18 to 24 months. Imagine a patient who has been on this drug for six months and now cannot afford to complete its expensive treatment,” he added. Without insurance coverage, patients have to pay ten times more, ILNA quoted a patient suffering from osteoporosis as saying.