Having Trouble Affording Your Prescription Drugs?
The High Costs of Prescription Drugs
Do you sometimes skip taking one or more of your medicines because you can’t afford to refill them every month?… Are you employed at a low income job that doesn’t offer health insurance?
…Are you over the age of sixty five and find that you have no insurance to help pay for your prescription drugs?
If you answered “Yes” to any one of these questions, you are not alone. Medical surveys have revealed that millions of Americans have either insufficient prescription drug coverage or no coverage at all. And, the same people have no financial means to pay for medicine themselves either.
Prescription drugs offer hope and a better quality of life for patients who suffer from a variety of serious illnesses. For example, they can help the patient who suffers from Diabetes control the level of their blood sugar. They can lower cholesterol levels in patients, thereby reducing the need for coronary bypass surgery. Prescription drugs can also help to treat high blood pressure, as well as a host of other ailments.
Can You Identify With Any of These Three People?
If you are struggling to pay for medicine that you take on a regular basis, you may be able to identify with these three subjects:
Mary Jones* is a young, divorced woman who has Asthma. She also suffers from an underactive thyroid. She takes prescriptions on a daily basis in order to keep her Asthma and thyroid in check. Mary manages to support herself and her teenage daughter by working as a teller at a local bank. Just like millions of other working Americans, Mary doesn’t have medical insurance. Since her daughter Megan is a minor, she has state-provided health coverage.
Mary can’t get the same help from the state because, according to their guidelines, she earns too much money a year. She doles out her paychecks to pay the mortgage on her house, buy groceries, and keep the utilities and other bills up to date, but Mary simply can’t afford to purchase the precriptions she needs to manage her Asthma….
John Smith* is a retired factory worker who suffers from Hyptertension. The majority of his income is supplied by Social Security. He also receives a small monthly pension from the factory he retired from. John manages to pay the rent on his tiny apartment, and pay his other bills, but he can’t afford the prescriptions he needs to control his Hypertension.
Medicare helps John out by paying for a part of his medical bills. But his Medicare doesn’t pay anything towards the cost of his prescriptions.
Up until he retired, John managed to keep a modest savings account in the bank. Since he’s retired, though, he’s been using his savings to buy his prescriptions every month. And now, his account is just about exhausted…
Carol Brown* is a single woman who has Diabetes, a life-threatening disease. Carol also has a problem with high cholesterol. Carol works as a secretary for a local plumber. She doesn’t have medical insurance to pay for her visits to the doctor and frequent tests. And most of all, she has no insurance to help pay for the prescriptions she needs to buy every month in order to keep her going…
Although these three people differ in many ways, they all have one common factor: they need prescription drugs to maintain their health.
What Mary, John and Carol probably don’t know, is that they could be eligible to receive their prescription drugs directly from the manufacturers… for FREE. The manufacturers that offer patient assistance programs are just beginning to advertise that this help is available.
Many Drug Manufacturers Often Offer Patient Assistance
Most of the major drug manufacturers including Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Parke-Davis, Novartis, Wyeth, and nearly a hundred more offer an array of over a thousand free prescription drugs for those who qualify.
Some of these companies and their programs include:
1. 3M Pharmaceuticals
3M Center Bldg. 275-6W-13
St. Paul, MN 55144
Patient Assistance Program 1-800-328-0255 – Option 1
On the Web: http://www.3m.com/us/healthcare/pharma/patient_assistance.jhtml
2. Abbott Laboratories
200 Abbott Park Road,
Dept 31C, J23
Abbott Park, IL 60064-6163
Patient Assistance Program (800) 222-6885
On the Web: http://abbottvirology.com/Pages/Assistance.asp
3. AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Foundation
PO Box 15197
Wilmington, DE 19850-5197
AstraZeneca Foundation Patient Assistance Program (800) 424-3727
On the Web: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/content/drugAssistance/patientAssistanceProgram/default.asp
4. Bristol-Myers Squibb
PO Box 4500
Princeton, NJ 08543-4500
Mailcode P25-37
Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation, Inc. (800) 332-2056
5. GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
PO Box 52185
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2185
Patient Assistance Program (866) 728-4368
On the Web: http://bridgestoaccess.gsk.com/
6. Kos Pharmaceuticals
2200 N Commerce Parkway, Ste 300
Weston, FL 33326
Kos Pharmaceuticals Patient Assistance Program (888) 454-7437
7. Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly Cares Program
Administrator, Lilly Cares
PO Box 230999
Centreville, VA 20120
(800) 545-6962
On the Web: http://www.lilly.com/products/access/direct_patient.html
8. Pfizer Prescription Assistance
PO Box 230970
Centreville, VA 20120
(800) 646-4455
9. Schering/Key Pharmaceuticals
PO Box 52122
Phoenix, AZ 85072
Schering Labs/Key Pharmaceuticals Commitment to Care (800) 656-9485
10. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Patient Assistance Program PO Box 13806
Philadelphia, PA 19101-9649
Patient Assistance Program (800) 395-9938
On the Web: http://www.wyeth.com/contact/contact_patient_assist.asp
If your prescription drugs are not manufactured by one of these leading companies, never fear! You can still find out if the manufacturer of your medicine has an assistance program. All it takes is a few minutes of time and access to the Internet.
How to Find a Drug Assistance Program
1. The first step is to check your medicine bottle to find out who the manufacturer is. Often, the name is abbreviated. For example, Carol takes Avandia for her Diabetes. She checked the label of the bottle and it read “GLAXO SMIT.” Carol is not sure what company this is, so she keyed in “GLAXO SMIT” into her favorite Internet search engine. She found out that this is an abbreviation for “GlaxoSmithKline.”
2. Next, simply key in (The Name of the Company) and the words, “Patient Assistance Program.”
Carol found a web address for GlaxoSmithKline’s “Bridges to Access” program. She clicked on the link and found a complete description of the company’s program and enrollment information. Now, all Carol has to do is to read about the program they offer. This section describes their eligibility requirements, application process, and more. If she thinks she may qualify, she’ll need to obtain an application so she can apply.
General Eligibility Requirements
In order to qualify for assistance with obtaining your prescription drugs, most drug manufacturers have three basic requirements:
1. You must be a United States citizen.
2. Your gross household income must not exceed a certain amount. This amount basically depends on how many people are in your household. (Some drug manufacturers require that you submit proof of income.) The household income limit varies from company to company.
3. You must not currently have insurance or any other type of assistance that aids in paying for your prescription medicine.
In Conclusion…
Mary, John and Carol all followed the simple instructions outlined above. They were often able to print the application forms they needed right off the Internet. (In some cases, your doctor or healthcare professional needs to make the call to the company.) After they completed the forms, they had their doctors or healthcare professionals fill out the rest. Finally, they sent them to their respective drug manufacturers. They all heard back from the companies in just a couple weeks.
If you are one of the millions of Americans who can’t afford to buy your prescription medicines, I urge you to apply for assistance… TODAY. If you qualify, you can get your drugs free from one or more of the assistance programs.
*Name has been changed to protect identity
