|
  |
|
|
Are You or Someone You Know Struggling To Pay For Expensive Medicine?
By Kirby Horton of Rx HELP
No one should have to make the choice between buying groceries, paying rent, or getting their much needed medicines. Yet many times it's a choice Americans, particularly older Americans, need to make. Over 47 million US citizens have no health insurance, and millions more have limited coverage. Many Americans just are not able to afford heath insurance, and, if they can, they don't have the money to buy their prescription medicines.
There is help out there for many Americans who can't pay for their prescriptions. These programs, many times called patient assistance programs (PAPs), are designed to assist those in need get their medicines at no charge or very low cost. All PAPs are designed to help those in need obtain their prescription medicines. Since each pharmaceutical company establishes its own rules and guidelines, all are different. Every program has income requirements and it is usually around 200% of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level). Each drug company decides which medicines are available on their programs and the length of time an individual can receive their assistance. The drug manufacturers also have different rules for recertifying. Often a medicine or a certain dosage of that medicine will be on a program, then off, and then back on again. Or one dose of the drug will be on the program and a different dose won’t be.
Sometimes lack of their physician's help can stymy a person's ability to qualify in a prescription assistance program. So many times I hear from patients whose doctors just will not sign the forms - or charge a fee to do it. What could you do at this point in time? A few helpful hints are: 1. Complete the form fully. Not only should you fill out the patient's section, but everything else you can fill in. This may include the physician's name and address, phone number, etc.
2. Bring all the information your physician needs. For instance, some prescription assistance programs require proof of household income. If so, attach whatever documents are required.
3. Bring an envelope addressed to the appropriate pharmaceutical company with the correct amount of postage.
4. Your doctor probably will not be able to fill out the enrollment forms while you wait. A busy physician may not have time to read the forms while you are there.
5. Should you encounter resistance, tell your doctor that without his/her help, you will not be able to obtain the medicines he/she is prescribing. Be persistant yet polite.
6. If all else fails, you will need to seek out a doctor more sympathetic to your cause and willing to help you. There are a number of companies that charge people to learn about patient assistance programs and to complete the enrollment forms. They will fill out all of the paperwork and coordinate everything with your doctor and the drug manufacturer. They do charge a fee and the charges vary. Some charge a per prescription fee while others charge a flat dollar fee per month regardless of the number of prescriptions. The depth and quality of their services will vary as well. Some will just provide the basic paperwork and leave you to manage the process. Other companies offer a complete and total solution. The better ones offer a full, 100% money-back guarantee if they cannot get your medicines. For those patients that just have one or two prescriptions from one physcian and have the organizational skills and patience, then the do it yourself route is probably the better way to go. On the other hand, if the patient finds the process too difficult then hiring the services of a organization that specializes in assistance programs is probably best. After all, most people hire a realtor to sell their house, a CPA to complete their taxes and a mechanic to fix their automobile. Surely obtaining one’s much needed prescriptions is worth the few dollars spent in hiring someone to assist you. If you or someone you know are struggling to pay for your prescriptions, I urge you to call for assistance today. If you qualify, you can get your medicines free from one or more of the prescription assistance programs. There is Rx help out there; you just need to be creative and assertive to get the medicine that you desperately need.
|
Contributor's Note
Kirby Horton is Founder, President and CEO of Rx HELP, a Prescription Assistance Company. He has over 30 years experience helping Americans with their healthcare needs. He can be reached at 866-960-9497
|
|
|
 |
|
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
The copyright for this content entitled "Are You or Someone You Know Struggling To Pay For Expensive Medicine?" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied, distributed, or modified as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://khorton.qondio.com/
|
|
|
This intel was contributed by khorton
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
