@redboat has an incredible story about how high his inflammation markers were. I'm not sure about how he was diagnosed with PMR but it was considered to be an extreme case. His response to Actemra was remarkable and as far as I know he is off prednisone and symptom free now.

Thanks @jlo2252 ! Assuming Kaiser Senior Advantage in Southern California is like Northern California's, Actemra should be covered. In NorCal, Medicare Part D coverage, which is needed to offset costs for Actemra, is included at no extra cost at Kaiser. There is a new alternative, called Tyenne, which I understand less expensive. But Tyenne and Actemra are both quite expensive. Without insurance or any offsets, Actemra is something like $40,000/year.