|
 Prescription
Drugs: Some Free and Low Cost Options
The
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
...."brings together Americas pharmaceutical
companies, doctors, other health care providers,
patient advocacy organizations and community
groups to help qualifying patients who lack
prescription coverage get the medicines they need
through the public or private program thats right
for them. Many will get them free or nearly
free. Its mission is to increase awareness of
patient assistance programs and boost enrollment
of those who are eligible.... offers a
single point of access to more than 275 public and
private patient assistance programs, including
more than 150 programs offered by pharmaceutical
companies."
Access the
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
at their website or by phoning toll-free
1-888-477-2669.
Here are links
to some representative Patient Assistance
programs:
AstraZeneca Patient Assistance Program
"... to provide AstraZeneca medications free
of charge to low-income patients who do not have
prescription coverage, do not qualify for
government-funded programs, and do not have the
means to pay for the medications themselves.
Patients enroll annually and, if approved for the
program, receive free medication delivered right
to their door."
"Uninsured patients of all ages, who are US
citizens with a valid Social Security number, with
an annual income below $18,000 per individual or
$24,000 for couples, and who meet the requirements
of the AstraZeneca Foundation may be eligible for
this program...."
GlaxoSmithKine
Orange Card Free Orange Card gives
qualified seniors 20% to 40% off the usual price
of GSK prescription medicines. To qualify, seniors
must 1) be without public or private Rx insurance
2)have a single income of under $30,000 3) have a
couple income of under $40,000. Click on link to
access website or phone 1-888-ORANGE6.
LilyAnswers Prescription Assistance Program
"... for Medicare-enrolled seniors and
Medicare-enrolled people with disabilities,
who have:
- No other
prescription drug coverage and
- Individual
annual income below $18,000 or household income
below $24,000"
National Organization for Rare Disorder NORD
"...Since 1987, NORD has
administered medication assistance programs to
assist uninsured or under-insured individuals in
securing life-saving or life-sustaining
medications. In addition to the estimated 50
million Americans who have no health insurance, an
increasing number of insured individuals have
policies that do not reimburse for prescription
drugs. Others have policies with low annual caps
on prescription drug expenditures."
"NORD works closely with humanitarian-minded
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to
ensure that certain vital medications are
available to those individuals whose income is too
high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to pay
for their prescribed medications."
Pfizer Prescription Drug Discount Cards
"... Pfizer is committed to helping eligible
low-income Medicare beneficiaries get access to
their Pfizer medicines as well as helping patients
better manage their health care. Under a new law,
Medicare will include a prescription drug benefit
starting in 2006. That's 2 years away, but people
need help paying for drugs now. Through innovative
programs, Pfizer is working to bridge the gap
until there is a Medicare prescription drug
benefit."
Pfizer Patient Assistance Programs and
Pfizer International Programs
The Merck
Prescription Discount Program provides all
uninsured Americans, regardless of age or income,
with easy and immediate access to discounts of 15
to 40 percent off many Merck medicines. Under the
Merck Prescription Discount Program, patients can
present an innovative Instant Savings Certificate
to their pharmacist along with a valid
prescription and immediately save at least 10
percent on many Merck prescriptions. The
certificates will be available in pharmacies,
doctors' offices, clinics, churches and community
centers free of charge. Patients also can print
out Instant Savings Certificates at
www.merckuninsured.com.
|
The Medicine Program helps
people cut through the red tape involved in
getting free prescription drugs. Costs a mere$5 for the processing fee.
CLICK HERE for media reviews.
WHAT'S THE BEST KEPT SECRET
of the drug business?
You
may be able to get your medicine free of charge.
Amid the growing furor about rising prescription costs, many patients and doctors aren't aware that the drug companies themselves give away millions of dollars worth of drugs each year. Most people do not know these programs exist. An organization known as The Medicine Program is here to help and cuts the red tape
for thousands of eligible Americans.
There
is a nominal $5 fee to cover the cost of processing your application.
To be approved for enrollment, some of the primary requirements are:
 The
applicant has no insurance coverage for outpatient prescription drugs.
The
applicant does not qualify for a government program which provides for
prescription medication, e.g. Medicaid.
The
applicant's income is at a level which causes a hardship when the
patient is required to purchase the medication at retail. (Note:
this can be as high as $60,000 a year in some cases as in cancer and
AIDS where very expensive drugs are involved.)
Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, an industry trade group, said the
nation's drug companies gave away 2.8 million prescriptions (this
doesn't include drug samples) valued at about $500 million in 1998. By
comparison, U.S. prescription drug sales reached
$125 billion last year, according
to IMS Health.
SOCIAL WORKERS AND
patient-advocacy groups say the corporate
drug programs are underutilized, in part because they aren't widely
publicized and often require both patients and doctors to file
extensive paperwork. They see the companies motives as
political as well as philanthropic. "In my opinion, they want to keep
it a secret," says Cindy Hogg, administrator for
The Medicine Program,
a private advocacy group in Doniphan, Mo., which helps patients
navigate the free drug application process. "They do it so they can
tell Congress, 'We give away medicine for free,' but then they don't
tell anybody about it and make it hard for people to apply."
Bristol-Myers Squibb spokesman Patrick Donohue said the company's
sales representatives promote the free drug program to doctors. Like
other drug makers, Bristol-Myers won't disclose its income criteria
but said its program is "very generous" compared with federal
programs. Some of the
drugs the company regularly gives away are the diabetes drug
Glucophage, the cholesterol drug Pravachol, and drugs treating AIDS
and cancer. Once approved, patients receive free drugs for six months,
and there's no limit to how often they can reapply. The typical
patient is in the program for about seven months, says Mr. Donohue.
Glaxo-Wellcome says its most requested drugs include the
antidepressant Wellbutrin, asthma drugs like Flovent and the heartburn
drug Zantac. It accepts applications from "health-care advocates" such
as physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy and billing clerks. The
advocate fills out a form with the patient's income and insurance
information. The advocate can then get approval by phone. If approved,
the application number is activated and the patient can go to a
pharmacy and get a 30-day prescription filled for $5 to $10
co-payment. Once the form is mailed in, the patient receives another
60-day supply. If more is needed, the patient must provide further
documentation. |
|
|
 How
to Find the Prescription Drug You Need
Look up the drug name in the alphabetical listing
below or in the
Directory
of Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Programs compiled
by the member companies of the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers and Researchers of America.
Please be aware that pharmaceutical manufacturers'
names and programs can change and new prescription
drugs are frequently added.
If
a particular prescription drug you are using is
not listed in the
Directory
of Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Programs, just ask your pharmacist
or physician for the name of the manufacturer of
that drug and their phone number. It's certainly
worth a small effort on your part to find out if
there is a patient assistance program and if you
qualify for it.
How
to Proceed
1.
Phone the pharmaceutical manufacturer and ask them
if they have a patient assistance program. NOTE:
If they don't respond to the name "patient
assistance program", you might give them the
following alternative names by which these
programs are sometimes referred:
- reimbursement
program
- indigent
patient program
- compassionate
care program
- medical
needs program
2. Ask the
representative what the requirements are to participate in their
program. Some companies require that you have a
limited income or no insurance coverage, while
others require only that you get a doctor's referral.
3. If you qualify for a particular program, speak
with your doctor's office and let them know. In
most cases you will need your physician to
request your participation in a program by a phone call
or letter from your doctor.
4. Should
your doctor refuse to call or does not believe the
program will work, contact the drug company or
companies yourself and find out about the
application process. While you will still need a
doctor to fill out the application, you can at
least get the forms, and then encourage your
doctor to complete them.
You can also take
a look at the RxHope website. This
site is directed toward physicians and health care
providers and it might be a good "third
party" way to introduce this idea to your
physician and could help overcome any objections
your physician or health care provider initially
may have. There is a convenient online application
form which your physician or health care provider
can fill out... and which will make their
participation in these programs a lot easier.
If your doctor still
refuses, as a last resort it's possible that you can find another
doctor who will be willing to accommodate you and
your needs.
5. Ask the pharmaceutical company how you
will receive the prescription drugs, and how you
can get refills. It is the policy of most
companies to send the medications directly to your physician. However,
there have been reports of occasional delays in
receiving the drugs. It's best to find out
ahead of time what the drug company's shipping
policy and schedule is and what you or your doctor
should do if there's a problem or delay.
RxHope.com:
The Heart of The Pharmaceutical
Industry
"Please
note that the use of RxHope.com is
limited to Prescriber offices and
certain Patient Advocate
Organizations."
RxHope.com
The Heart of the Pharmaceutical Industry
provides Patient Prescribers and
Health Care Providers with
patient
assistance request form
"The
Pharmaceutical Industry is
committed to ensuring that
everyone who needs prescription
medications is able to receive
them.
"RxHope.com
can help prescribers
obtain these medications for their
patients when the patient is
unable to afford them and does not
have access to prescription
insurance or government-funded
programs.
"Best
of all, this service is FAST,
SIMPLE, and FREE. The procedure
for applying for these medications
is as simple as entering your
request on the Patient
Assistance Request Form. Once
completed, your request is sent
directly to the pharmaceutical
company for processing. Thats
it. No more forms to complete, no
red tape; no dead-end phone calls.
 Ask Your
Doctor for Free Samples
Many
manufacturers send doctors free samples to
give to their patients. Ask your physician
if he or she has any samples of the drugs
that you have been prescribed.
|
Medicaid
can be a Source of Free and Low Cost Prescription Drugs.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Here are Medicaid offices:
Below are
other advocacy groups. Many of these are also
free or have minimal $4 or $5 processing fees.
TheLivingWeb.net does not endorse any of these
sources, so "buyer beware."
Advocacy Groups and Free Information
 "Free and Low Cost
Prescription Drugs" expanded to 48 pages,
now includes over one hundred programs and nearly 1,200 drug listings.
Cost to download is $4. The booklet gives hard to find
information on how and where to get free & low cost prescription drugs.
|
NeedyMeds.com
NeedyMeds was founded by
Libby Overly, M.Ed, MSW and Richard J Sagall, MD. in 1997.
. From the start, it was decided that the information
would always be available at no cost on the web. It
continues to grow with new information, links, and more
are added to the website.
In response to requests for printed versions of the data,
they began selling the NeedyMeds Manual. It contains the
information on the website for those who find it easier to
use a printed version rather than accessing the website.
Their goal is to become the best source of information on
patient assistance programs and other programs that help
people obtain health supplies and equipment.
Program List
Brand Name
Drug List
Generic
Drug List
Poverty Guidelines
|
Access to Benefits Coalition
Rx Assist
Rx Outreach is a new Patient Assistance
Program that provides qualified low-income individuals and families with
access to generic versions of brand name medications.
Free Medicine A patient advocate helping patients
nationwide of all ages get free or low cost prescription drugs. Over 17
million prescriptions provided in 2004. Find out if you qualify for our
program.
Free Medicine Foundation
Helping patients nationwide of all ages get free or low cost
prescriptions.
Free Medicine Program
Free
Prescriptions
Dr. HealthyNet
Medicine for Free
Drug
Assistance Programs from Pharmaceutical Companies
Discount Online Pharmacies and
Discount Cards
AffordableRx
Doctor Solve
Drug
Place
Endless Meds
Quality Prescription
Drugs
Medical Discounts Internationa
USA
Medication
People's Choice Prescription Plan
Have
Diabetic Supplies Delivered to Your Home for FREE
or at a Greatly Reduced Cost If You Qualify
Liberty Medical
National Diabetic Pharmacies
Nipro
Free
Contact Lens Trials
AllAboutVision.com lists a variety of free trial
and discount offers
Also see:
AARP Advocacy Program
Free Prescription News
|
