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Increasing Cost of Prescription Medicine
By Kirby Horton of Rx HELP
The increasing price of drugs, combined with a lack of drug coverage, is leaving Americans without the prescription medication they need. Fortunately, help may be available. A national study has shown that 14% of the U.S. population lacked any type of medical insurance whatsoever. Even more troubling, a staggering 22% did not have insurance covering prescriptions. Those numbers are escalating as drug prices continue to grow. The AFL-CIO Task Force on Prescription Drugs reports there are three factors that contribute to the rapid increase in prescription drug expenditures: a.) the growing number of prescription drugs per person; b.) the availability of newer, more expensive prescription medicine that replace older, less expensive drugs; and c.) the price increases of existing drugs. In response, governments have tried to control rising costs by limiting the useage of medicine, asking drug companies for price concessions, and changing the Medicare payment formula. It is estimated that total spending by and for Medicaid beneficiaries will more than triple over the next decade, from $71 billion in 2001 to $228 billion in 2011. Having a medical condition or disease can put a tremendous amount of strain on a patient’s body and mind. To add to the problem further, many of these people have low income, with no prescription medicine insurance coverage and limited extra money which can be designated for prescriptions. Even those with insurance know there are no guarantees: many have had to meet escalating deductibles and had prescription medicine go partially paid for - or totally uncovered. Fortunately, there are loopholes in the healthcare roadblock. Lack of insurance coverage is a prescription for disaster, while all prescription costs are rapidly increasing, the cost of brand name medicines is escalating even faster. Are you eligible for the generic version of your prescription, or must you have the brand name? Ask your doctor and pharmacist if your medicine can be filled with the lower-cost generics. In some instances, this is not possible because the brand names are more efficacious than their generic counterparts. Many physicians will help their patients by providing free samples of the prescription. While samples are not a permanent solution they can help in time of need. Ask your healthcare provider. One of the best ways to get low cost or free drugs is to talk to the pharmaceutical company. Call the company and ask about their Prescription Assistance Program. Most all drug manufacturers offer these programs, which enable consumers to receive prescription medicine they need at a price they can afford. A lengthy application co-signed by your healthcare provider is typically necessary for entry into the program. Patient Assistance Programs run by manufacturers have been in existence for over 24 years. These programs are designed to assist eligible patients who can’t afford their prescription drugs due to low income or other financial hardships. Drug manufacturers did not want their low income customers to be forced to make a choice between paying for life saving prescriptions or for paying for rent or groceries. As a result, patient assistance programs came into being as part of the company's philanthropic efforts. Until relatively recently, few people knew about the existence of these programs or could follow the complicated application process that was required for participation. Often times several applications had to be filed with several different pharmaceutical companies in order to gain access to assistance programs. The pharmaceutical companies think that offering information via websites and toll-free numbers is essentially all that patients need to access PAPs. They don’t understand the inability of many patients, particularly those on several prescriptions from 2 or more physicians to follow through with the fragmented application process. It also places an unfair burden on the physicians that are already swamped with paperwork. Fortunately there are companies that will perform the task for people for a fee. These prescription assistance companies will generally coordinate the process from beginning to end. Of course the prescription assistance is free and if people have the ability to do it themselves they should, but for those patients that just don’t have the capacity to do it themselves, the hiring of a firm to do the job is a better option than not taking the medications they need.
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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
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This intel was contributed by khorton
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February, 2012
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