by Jeffrey Lewis (NAPS)—If you or someone youlove is one of the millions of Americans with a chronic disease or a life-threatening through Partnership for Prescription Assistance (www.pparx.org), the web- ers and their partners offer you a gift of hopethis holiday season. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are criticized as Scrooge or the Grinch in our country’s health care system. Elected officials and advocacy organizations want to blame somebodyfor rising Rx than 475 different assistance programs. condition, pharmaceutical manufactur- costs, and the most obvious target is the Big Pharma. Butin this blame game,verylittle attention is given to the help the pharmaceutical industry and its partners quietly provide to patients in need through a variety of programs. Such programsare often based on site created by PhRMA, the trade as- sociation representing pharmaceutical manufacturers, linking patients to more On most of these websites, you can be connected with a customer support team member who can help determine if you areeligible and get you enrolled. You will be asked to verify that you are insured or uninsured and, in somecases, provide proof of income. You may need your physician to validate your condition. But once approved, access to medication is almost immediate. (Note: Patients enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid maynotbeeligible.) Pharmaceutical manufacturers also offer co-pay assistance, in which the the patient’s household income, but not patient is offered help with the cost of considered eligible. Likewise, those with is eligible. And,it is important to know always. Patients with no health insurance coverage are often the first group one or more chronic or life-threatening conditions are a highpriority. If you fall into one of these catego- ries, check out the Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) found on individual pharmaceutical company websites or medication co-payments. Some co-pay assistance programs do not limit who that some co-pay assistance programs will not help people on Medicare. Each program sets its ownrules. People searching for an online provider should check out www.RxAssist. org. This site was developed by Astra- Zeneca, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, with the sole purpose of helping people access needed medications.It is one of the best sites available. ‘The California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC)launched the website www. mypatientrights.com in California and is taking it nationwide to help people who have been denied treatment or medicines, experienced delays or are dissat- isfied with the decisions made by their health plan. Today, this program is operating in 17 states. It helps patients get the care or treatmentthey need if denied, or if their plans dort cover their meds and force them to payfull price. The program is available in 17 states— check the website to see if your state has a program. This holiday season, if you need help with your medications, you are not alone. Go to the websites cited throughout this article. They can help connect you with low-cost and free alternatives. It is worth your time to explore these options. Feel free to e-mail me with your questions. Jeffrey Lewis, CEO of Legacy Health Endowment in Turlock, can be reached at jeffrey@legacyhealthendowment.org. The views expressed are his own.
