Get the Medications you need!
Lack of Health Insurance Growing?
According to Kaiser Foundation researcher Catherine Hoffman, Scd, “”Even in the mid-1990s, when the economy was booming, we saw the number of uninsured Americans grew by about a million a year. And that is because there was never any control over health costs. We just don’t have a solution.”
With economy of the United States having been identified as being in an economic crisis the world has officially been declared to be in a recession. The unemployment rate has jumped from about 4.7 percent last December, when the recession began, to 6.7 percent today. Economists estimated in a Kaiser Family Foundation report that each 1 percent gain in the unemployment rate adds 1 million people to the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
As the world’s worst economic crisis of the century deepens, several factors begin to interfere with many Citizen’s daily lives. Almost 50 million Americans already were without health insurance, and millions more had limited coverage prior to the recession. Deceases in tax revenue will only result in additional reductions in already stressed government healthcare programs.
Many of our fellow Americans families, some with working members, will feel that they are forced to make a choice no one should have to make – pay the mortgage, buy food or get a prescription filled. Some are trying to stretch their supply by reducing the prescribed amount, others try skipping doses. There are assistance programs available which should be utilized.
Patient Assistance Programs
Help is available for many of the people who can’t afford medical care or their prescription medicines. Medication programs, are frequently referred to as patient assistance programs (PAPs). They are designed to provide medications little or no costs.
Not all pharmaceutical companies have PAPs programs. The manufacturers provide a variety of reasons for participating in the programs. Some do it for the good public relations (PR), others believe it part of showing that they are a good citizen. Some don’t want to be up staged by a competitor. Others believe it’s a good marketing tool. Even others believe that in the future when the patient will be in a position to purchase medication they will remember their company.
During 2005, PAPs helped over 7 million people. The programs filled over 36 million prescriptions with a total wholesale value of over $5 billion.
Program Basics
Individual pharmaceutical companies establish their own rules and guidelines. They all have different income guidelines which will vary and can change over time. Each company selects which drugs are available on their programs and how long a person can receive assistance.
PAP Resources and Healthcare Information Centers
There are a number of resources available to help providers, patients and caregivers more easily navigate the hundreds of PAPs now available and better understand enrollment requirements. Some will provide information where reduced or no cost healthcare can also be provided. Information on some of the more successful programs are listed below. For more information call or visit the following organizations:
800-250-2839
Together Rx Access provides a free prescription savings card for individuals who are legal residents of the United States, are not eligible for Medicare, do not have prescription drug coverage, and meet certain household income levels. The Together Rx Access Card was created by 10 pharmaceutical companies, providing access to more than 300 brand-name prescription and generic products.
National Association of Counties
877-321-2652
www.NeedyMeds.com
NeedyMeds is a free, online clearinghouse to help people who cannot afford medicine or healthcare costs. This Web site includes a wide range of information about services such as Discount Drug Cards, Medicaid websites, Federal Poverty Guidelines and other useful information. NeedyMeds also publishes PAP News, a quarterly newsletter with up-to-date information about PAPs.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
888-477-2669 (888-4PPA-NOW)
www.pparx.org
Brings together pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help patients who lack prescription drug coverage get free or nearly free medicines by increasing awareness of existing PAPs. Offers a single point of access to more than 475 public and private assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.
www.rxassist.org
RxAssist offers a comprehensive database of PAPs. It was established in 1997 with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by Volunteers in Health Care, a national resource center for safety-net organizations.
HealthCare Resources
PPARx.org Free Clinic Finder
Please use the form below to find free or low cost clinics in your area. By entering your zip code
NeedyMeds.org
Located under “Addition Programs” as Free and Low Cost Clinics
A Few Helpful Tips from NeedyMeds.org
The most common problem patient’s encounter when completing the application forms is lack of physician cooperation. Over and over I hear from people whose physicians just won’t complete the forms - or charge to do it. I am asked what they should do.
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Make sure you have completed everything on the form that you can. Not only should you complete the applicant’s section, but anything else you can fill in. This may include the physician’s name and address, phone number, etc.
2. Bring all the information your doctor may need. For example, some programs require proof of income. If so, attach whatever documents are required.
3. Bring an addressed envelope with the appropriate postage.
4. Don’t expect your doctor to complete the form immediately. A busy doctor may not have time to read the form while you are in the office.
5. If you encounter resistance, tell your doctor that without his/her help, you won’t be able to obtain the medicines he/she is prescribing. Be blunt and persistent.
6. If all else fails, you may need to find a physician more sympathetic to your plight and willing to help you.