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No drug coverage? Help is available
A helpful physician, an Internet connection and patience can pay off for
low-income people
The Detroit News 03/14/05
author: Ellen Simon / Associated Press
(Copyright 2005)
There are low-cost, and, in some cases, free, options for low-income
people who have no health insurance or no prescription coverage to get
the drugs they need. Unfortunately, the key word is "options."
Depending on which medications you take, which state you live in and
other factors, you may need more than one program.
A helpful physician, an Internet connection and a lot of patience will
make this easier.
But Michal Fishman, a spokeswoman for Pfizer Inc., said "Not enough
people who are eligible for these programs are taking advantage of
them."
Most pharmaceutical companies run programs for people who can't afford
the medication they produce. Almost all require paperwork that must be
filled out by both doctor and patient. For instance, Eli Lilly & Co.,
which makes the osteoporosis drug Forteo, has a card called
LillyAnswers, www.lillyanswers.com.
Low-income seniors who are eligible for Medicare and have no
prescription drug coverage can apply for the card. With it, they pay $12
for a 30-day supply of a Lilly drug, including Forteo -- a savings of
$488 a month.
About 350,000 people participate in the program, which has filled 1.2
million prescriptions since it began in April 2002, according to the
company.
Many of the programs run by pharmaceutical companies aren't
well-publicized, said Howard Berliner, professor of health policy at New
School University in New York.
"It stands to reason why they wouldn't be broadcasting the availability
of low-income drugs."
Still, according to the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, 6.2 million patients received 17.8 million
prescriptions through programs run by pharmaceutical companies in 2003,
up from 1.1 million patients in 1997.
Another option is state programs, which vary widely. Many states have
multiple programs, with some for AIDS patients and some for pregnant
women.
A Web site run by the pharmaceutical industry, www.helpingpatients.org,
lists both state-run programs and programs run by pharmaceutical
companies.
(Click on "View a list of the participating pharmaceutical companies" to
see both state and company-run programs.)
The directory is also available by calling (800) 762-4636.
Other programs are run by groups of drug companies.
Pfizer, Lilly, AstraZeneca PLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. and
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc. participate in the UShare Prescription
Drug Discount card, www.usharerx.com or (800) 707-3917.
The annual enrollment fee is $19.95.
Low-income people who meet eligibility requirements and join the program
can pay $15 for many Pfizer or AstraZeneca drugs, $12 for many Lilly
drugs and an estimated $12 to $15 per prescription for Janssen and
Ortho-McNeil drugs. About 320,000 people have the card.
There are more than 40 Medicare-approved discount cards available. Try
www.medicare.gov for information.
If you don't have Web access, a starting place for information about
different programs should be your doctor.
"I hope every doctor would say to his patients, 'Are you able to pay for
this prescription?' " said Jim McNulty, director of consumer and family
affairs at the Department of Mental Health in Rhode Island and former
national president for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
McNulty said most of the patients he sees are part of no official
program and depend on doctors to give them a steady stream of medication
the physicians have received as free samples from pharmaceutical sales
representatives.
"People have to be really ingenious," he said.
A helpful physician, an Internet connection and patience can pay off for
low-income people
The Detroit News 03/14/05
author: Ellen Simon / Associated Press
(Copyright 2005)
There are low-cost, and, in some cases, free, options for low-income
people who have no health insurance or no prescription coverage to get
the drugs they need. Unfortunately, the key word is "options."
Depending on which medications you take, which state you live in and
other factors, you may need more than one program.
A helpful physician, an Internet connection and a lot of patience will
make this easier.
But Michal Fishman, a spokeswoman for Pfizer Inc., said "Not enough
people who are eligible for these programs are taking advantage of
them."
Most pharmaceutical companies run programs for people who can't afford
the medication they produce. Almost all require paperwork that must be
filled out by both doctor and patient. For instance, Eli Lilly & Co.,
which makes the osteoporosis drug Forteo, has a card called
LillyAnswers, www.lillyanswers.com.
Low-income seniors who are eligible for Medicare and have no
prescription drug coverage can apply for the card. With it, they pay $12
for a 30-day supply of a Lilly drug, including Forteo -- a savings of
$488 a month.
About 350,000 people participate in the program, which has filled 1.2
million prescriptions since it began in April 2002, according to the
company.
Many of the programs run by pharmaceutical companies aren't
well-publicized, said Howard Berliner, professor of health policy at New
School University in New York.
"It stands to reason why they wouldn't be broadcasting the availability
of low-income drugs."
Still, according to the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, 6.2 million patients received 17.8 million
prescriptions through programs run by pharmaceutical companies in 2003,
up from 1.1 million patients in 1997.
Another option is state programs, which vary widely. Many states have
multiple programs, with some for AIDS patients and some for pregnant
women.
A Web site run by the pharmaceutical industry, www.helpingpatients.org,
lists both state-run programs and programs run by pharmaceutical
companies.
(Click on "View a list of the participating pharmaceutical companies" to
see both state and company-run programs.)
The directory is also available by calling (800) 762-4636.
Other programs are run by groups of drug companies.
Pfizer, Lilly, AstraZeneca PLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. and
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc. participate in the UShare Prescription
Drug Discount card, www.usharerx.com or (800) 707-3917.
The annual enrollment fee is $19.95.
Low-income people who meet eligibility requirements and join the program
can pay $15 for many Pfizer or AstraZeneca drugs, $12 for many Lilly
drugs and an estimated $12 to $15 per prescription for Janssen and
Ortho-McNeil drugs. About 320,000 people have the card.
There are more than 40 Medicare-approved discount cards available. Try
www.medicare.gov for information.
If you don't have Web access, a starting place for information about
different programs should be your doctor.
"I hope every doctor would say to his patients, 'Are you able to pay for
this prescription?' " said Jim McNulty, director of consumer and family
affairs at the Department of Mental Health in Rhode Island and former
national president for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
McNulty said most of the patients he sees are part of no official
program and depend on doctors to give them a steady stream of medication
the physicians have received as free samples from pharmaceutical sales
representatives.
"People have to be really ingenious," he said.
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