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Lack of Rx Coverage and The Cost of Medicine
By Kirby Horton of Rx HELP
The rising costs of prescriptions, combined with a lack of prescription drug coverage, is leaving consumers without the prescription medication they need. Fortunately, assistance is available. A national study has shown that 16% of the U.S. population lacked any type of medical insurance whatsoever. Even more amazing, a staggering 23% did not have insurance covering medicine. As prescription medicine prices continue to increase, those numbers are quickly increasing. The AFL-CIO Task Force on Prescription Drugs reports there are a few factors that contribute to the quick increase in prescription medicine expenditures: a.) the increasing number of prescriptions per patient; b.) the availability of newer, more costly drugs that replace older, less expensive prescription medicine; and c.) the price increases of existing drugs. In response, governments have tried to reign in increasing prices by limiting the useage of prescriptions, asking pharmaceutical drug companies for price breaks, and changing the Medicaid payment system. 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. Treatments for various medical conditions and diseases can put a burden on both a patient’s bank account and mental well being. To add to the problem even more, many of these people have low income, with little or no prescription drug coverage and no "disposable" income which can be designated for healthcare. Even those with medical insurance know they have no guarantees: many have had to meet rising deductibles and had prescriptions go partially paid for - or not covered at all. Fortunately, there are ways around every healthcare hurdle. Lack of health coverage is a prescription for disaster, while most drug prices are quickly increasing, the cost of brand name prescription drugs is increasing even more quickly. Can you take the generic version of your prescription medicine? Ask your physician and pharmacist if your prescription medicine can be filled with the lower-cost generics. In some circumstances, this is not possible because the brand names are more efficacious than their generic counterparts. Many physicians will assist their patients by providing free samples of the prescription drugs. While samples are not a permanent solution they can help in time of need. Ask your doctor. One of the best ways to get low cost or free medicine is to talk to the drug companies. Contact the company and ask about their Prescription Assistance Program. Almost all drug companies offer such programs, which enable people to receive prescriptions they need at a price they can afford. You and your healthcare provider will need to complete an application. Patient Assistance Programs run by drug companies have been in existence for over 22 years. These programs are designed to assist eligible people who cannot afford their prescriptions due to limited income or other financial hardships. Manufacturers did not want their low income patients to be forced to make a choice between paying for life saving prescription drugs 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, very few patients knew about the existence of these programs or could follow the complicated application process that was necessary for participation. In many cases several applications had to be filed with several different drug companies in order to gain access to a PAP. The manufacturers think that offering information via websites and toll-free numbers is all that people need to access PAPs. They don’t grasp the inability of many patients, particularly those on multiple drugs from 2 or more physicians to follow through with the difficult application process. It also places an unfair burden on the doctors that are already overwhelmed 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 prescriptions are free and if patients are capable of doing it themselves they should, but for those people that just don’t have the capacity to do it themselves, the hiring of a professional to do the job is a better option than not taking the prescriptions they need.
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Contributor's Note
Kirby Horton is the Founder of Rx HELP, A Prescription Assistance Company
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This intel was contributed by khorton
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May, 2012
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