Medications - Free or Low Cost Meds
Medical Disclaimer
Web Sites Help Cash-Crunched Get Medicine - By Lisa Baertlein
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Guided by a patient in her ward,
nurse Beckie Osburn found a Web site that gave her the tools to
help her adult son get the medicine he needs but cannot
afford.
"I've always had insurance, so I didn't have to worry about
it," said Osburn, an oncology nurse in Santa Cruz, California,
who had been paying for her uninsured son's prescriptions until a
cancer patient told her about NeedyMeds.com.
Health-conscious consumers have long used the Internet to find
information on treatments, but little- known Web sites like http://www.NeedyMeds.com cater to millions of
people seeking free or low-cost drugs because they are not
insured or have limited finances.
NeedyMeds is a free site that was launched in 1997 by a home
health social worker and a doctor. The site provides up-to-date
information on 177 drug company-sponsored programs that help
people get medication for little or no money, and has links to
application forms for many of those same programs.
As a result of the tip, Osburn and her 25-year-old son are now in
the process of applying for access to low-price medication
through one of two patient assistance programs run by
GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK.L) http://www.ipp.gsk.com/
Osburn said the medicine, which costs $98 for 30 pills that last
about a week, would cost between $5 and $10 for a 90-day supply
under the drug maker's patient assistance program.
Osburn is now also using NeedyMeds' resources to help her
father-in-law get his expensive prescriptions filled.
WORKING, BUT UNINSURED
Osburn's son currently is not employed. His wife has a job, but
makes too little to afford the $800 a month that insurance would
cost. And, he is not eligible for Medi-Cal, California's health
care insurance for disabled, elderly and low-income individuals.
As a result, Osburn has been helping to pick up the cost of his
doctor's bills and medications.
GlaxoSmithKline is developing a new indigent patient program, but
in the interim continues to run the one Osburn is tapping.
Eligibility for the current programs depend on the patient's
household size, income and medical expenses. The company also
requires that a doctor, nurse or nurse practitioner act as
patient advocate. Patients must re-enroll on a regular basis and
advocates must call the pharmacy before each refill.
"They don't want you selling the drug," Osburn said.
WIDESPREAD AND GETTING KNOWN
Almost every pharmaceutical manufacturer has some sort of patient
assistance program, also known as a "prescription drug assistance
program" or "indigent patient program."
Hundreds of drugs are available through the programs, including
chemotherapy agents like Xeloda and Gemzar, acne drug Accutane,
antibiotic Cipro and anti-impotence drug Viagra.
Drug makers don't advertise the programs and many doctors aren't
aware of them, so lots of patients still go without the medicine
they need.
Participation in the programs also takes commitment.
The required paperwork can get unwieldy, as patients must enroll
and frequently renew with each company from which they receive
drugs. Many programs also require that the patient work closely
with a doctor, nurse or social worker.
Nevertheless, more and more people are using the programs as
an avenue to needed drugs they otherwise couldn't afford.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an
industry group known as PhRMA, estimates that during 2002 its
members will have provided 14.1 million prescriptions with a
wholesale value of $2.3 billion through their patient assistance
programs. That's up from 8 million prescriptions valued at $1.1
billion in 2000, PhRMA said.
LAUNCHING POINTS
People who receive Medicare -- government-sponsored health
coverage for senior citizens and people who are disabled -- can
start by visiting http://www.medicare.gov/Prescription/home.asp.
That site allows users to conduct regionalized searches based
on medications or conditions. It also links to pages sponsored by
the American Foundation for AIDS (news - web sites) Research, www.amfar.org,
and PhRMA.
On other fronts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation targets
health care providers with its Web site, http://www.rxassist.org.
Anne Paschke, spokeswoman for Richmond, Virginia-based United
Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) said transplant drugs can run
"tens of thousands of dollars a year." Her group's Web site, http://www.unos.org, carries information
about prescription drug assistance programs.
While PhRMA and its members support the programs, they said
they are not a fix to this country's prescription-drug ills.
"While patient assistance programs are essential, they're not
a substitute for expanded public access to life-saving,
cost-effective medicines, particularly for seniors," PhRMA said
on its Web site.
Among other things, PhRMA's members back prescription drug
coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.
Access to Free or Low Cost Medicine
www.edhayes.com/indigent.html
www.themedicineprogram.com/
www.needymeds.com/
www.prescriptions4free.com/
www.pharmwell.com/indigent.htm
www.naotd.org/freemeds.html
