Episode 334: Managing Health Insurance When You're Living With MS with Carla Turechek

Living well with MS means learning to plan ahead. And, while planning ahead may not solve every issue that crosses your path, taking time to understand some of the details and making the right choices when it comes to your health insurance can make a huge difference in your MS care and treatment. MS Navigator and insurance resources specialist Carla Turechek joins me to share strategies for successfully navigating the health insurance maze with a minimum number of "surprises." We're also sharing study results that can help you get the most benefit from your everyday physical activity. We'll introduce you to an early-stage biotech company that just secured funding to develop three novel therapies that will address myelin repair and neuroinflammation. We'll share study results that show that a high level of a protein in the blood is a reliable predictor of future disability progression among people living with progressive MS. We're sharing some eye-opening discount prices from the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company for generics for three different disease-modifying therapies. And, speaking of generics, we'll explain why you can buy the generic for Tecfidera in the United States today, but it won't be available in Europe until next year, at the earliest. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Successfully navigating the health insurance maze  :22 STUDY: The benefit of physical activity lies in step rate and not step count  1:42 Myrobalan Therapeutics secures financing to develop 3 therapies that address myelin repair and neuroinflammation  3:47 STUDY: High levels of a protein in the blood may predict disability progression in people with primary progressive MS  5:41 You'll want to check out the prices of generics for 3 disease-modifying therapies at Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company  8:50 Generics for Tecfidera have been delayed at least one year in Europe  10:47 MS Navigator and insurance resources specialist Carla Turechek shares strategies for maximizing your health insurance benefits and minimizing your costs   12:03 Share this episode  26:46 Have you downloaded the free RealTalk MS app?  27:07 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/334 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts! Email: [email protected] Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com STUDY: Free-Living Ambulatory Physical Activity and Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis: The Significance of Step Rate vs Step Volume https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38214757 Myrobalan Therapeutics  https://myrotx.com STUDY: Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Disability Progression in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acn3.51969 The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company https://costplusdrugs.com Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms Download the RealTalk MS App for iOS Devices https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realtalk-ms/id1436917200 Download the RealTalk MS App for Android Deviceshttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.realtalk Give RealTalk MS a rating and review http://www.realtalkms.com/review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com. RealTalk MS Episode 334 Guest: Carla Turechek Privacy Policy