Hi all, I’m a bit nervous and any helpful tips or info would be very appreciated! I have Ulcerative Colitis (autoimmune illness) and am prescribed Entyvio in the US. This is a medication that involves me going to the hospital/clinic, being hooked up to an IV, and getting the medication via IV for 30 minutes. It happens once every two months and keeps me perfectly healthy in my day-to-day life. With insurance in the US, my costs aren’t too bad, maybe $150 per visit. However, the base cost of the medication is much higher, about $5,000 per dose.
I have been trying to do as much research as I can, but I’m getting a bit confused about how much this would truly cost me while living in Japan. I would initially be there on a student visa in language school for one year, then switching to employment after that (hopefully). I’ll be based in Tokyo. In my self-googling, here is all of the info I’ve found so far:
\-Entyvio (エンタイビオ, generic name ベドリズマブ) price: 279,573円 per dose (found here [https://www.kegg.jp/medicus-bin/japic\_med?japic\_code=00067620](https://www.kegg.jp/medicus-bin/japic_med?japic_code=00067620))
\-IBD (general classification of my disability) info page has information about expense assistance, but I can’t read it. It looks like it says it covers 80% (20% is still very expensive), but then also has a table showing low-income max out of pocket would be 2,500 yen? (found here [https://www.ibdstation.jp/iryouhi/burden.html](https://www.ibdstation.jp/iryouhi/burden.html))
\-In the US, I have to pay medication fee + short-term hospital/clinic room use fee. I haven’t found any information on whether that’s a thing in Japan for medication infusions? In the US, it’s not really the same as a “hospital visit”, but I don’t know if it’s considered that way in Japan.
\-Would medical documents from the US prove my illness for any subsidies (if I qualify)? I’ve read online that for disabilities, a Japanese doctor would need to retest you – but being retested in Japan would show me as healthy, because the medication keeps me that way. However, I have past documentation/imagery of Us-based colonoscopies that show how severe my disease was.
I don’t know much Japanese yet, so there might be some info I’m overlooking. I know this is such a weirdly specific issue, and I’m getting anxious because the more I research, the less concrete answers I find. Will my condition make it prohibitively expensive/impossible for me to move to Japan? Are there any resources for someone like me prior to actually getting to Japan, or will I have to take the risk, get there, and hope it doesn’t cost too much? If I do qualify for lower payments, is it possible to start the process of applying for that prior to landing in Japan? I know this post is all over the place and maybe an overload of information, but truly any advice or knowledge would be a big help.
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Bi-monthly hospital trips & cost (Entyvio)**
Hi all, I’m a bit nervous and any helpful tips or info would be very appreciated! I have Ulcerative Colitis (autoimmune illness) and am prescribed Entyvio in the US. This is a medication that involves me going to the hospital/clinic, being hooked up to an IV, and getting the medication via IV for 30 minutes. It happens once every two months and keeps me perfectly healthy in my day-to-day life. With insurance in the US, my costs aren’t too bad, maybe $150 per visit. However, the base cost of the medication is much higher, about $5,000 per dose.
I have been trying to do as much research as I can, but I’m getting a bit confused about how much this would truly cost me while living in Japan. I would initially be there on a student visa in language school for one year, then switching to employment after that (hopefully). I’ll be based in Tokyo. In my self-googling, here is all of the info I’ve found so far:
-Entyvio (エンタイビオ, generic name ベドリズマブ) price: 279,573円 per dose (found here [https://www.kegg.jp/medicus-bin/japic_med?japic_code=00067620](https://www.kegg.jp/medicus-bin/japic_med?japic_code=00067620))
-IBD (general classification of my disability) info page has information about expense assistance, but I can’t read it. It looks like it says it covers 80% (20% is still very expensive), but then also has a table showing low-income max out of pocket would be 2,500 yen? (found here [https://www.ibdstation.jp/iryouhi/burden.html](https://www.ibdstation.jp/iryouhi/burden.html))
-In the US, I have to pay medication fee + short-term hospital/clinic room use fee. I haven’t found any information on whether that’s a thing in Japan for medication infusions? In the US, it’s not really the same as a “hospital visit”, but I don’t know if it’s considered that way in Japan.
-Would medical documents from the US prove my illness for any subsidies (if I qualify)? I’ve read online that for disabilities, a Japanese doctor would need to retest you – but being retested in Japan would show me as healthy, because the medication keeps me that way. However, I have past documentation/imagery of Us-based colonoscopies that show how severe my disease was.
I don’t know much Japanese yet, so there might be some info I’m overlooking. I know this is such a weirdly specific issue, and I’m getting anxious because the more I research, the less concrete answers I find. Will my condition make it prohibitively expensive/impossible for me to move to Japan? Are there any resources for someone like me prior to actually getting to Japan, or will I have to take the risk, get there, and hope it doesn’t cost too much? If I do qualify for lower payments, is it possible to start the process of applying for that prior to landing in Japan? I know this post is all over the place and maybe an overload of information, but truly any advice or knowledge would be a big help.
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Generally, the cost of treatment here is much lower than in the US, and even Europe, so there’s nothing to fear about cost. Also, your expense on health care per month is capped depending on your income. The lower your income, the lesser the premiums/cap of costs.
For outpatients, they usually have a place, where they can take infusions/transfusions. It’s often not as private/quiet as elsewhere in the world. It may just be that you get your infusion in a hall with a bunch of other patients, separated only by curtains (that’s how it was for me).
In many places, including large hospitals, privacy is scarce, it needs a bit of a “get used to” for you and me. The waiting area is often separated from the doctor’s office only by a curtain, and all of your conversations with the doctor can be heard from outside, while nurses and office ladies go in and out all the time. And after your consultation, you’ll sit in the waiting area until the nurse comes out and explains to you, how it goes on from now, what medication you’ll have to take and what tests you’ll have to do next time around – not really lowering her voice. I have the feeling that a lot of old people are sitting around there just for the entertainment, haha; there’s often a tv and free cold water there as well.
So, welcome to Japan!