Drugmakers Ease Eligibility for Discounts
By Francesca Lunzer Kritz
The Washington Post

In this tough economy, a few drug companies are broadening their programs that help people struggling to pay for prescription drugs.

-- Last month, Merck, whose drugs include Januvia for diabetes and Singulair for asthma, increased the income eligibility of its assistance plan to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, from its previous 200 percent level.

This means that patients in the contiguous United States qualify if they have an annual household income of $43,320 or less for individuals, $58,280 or less for couples, or $88,200 or less for a family of four, even if the financial situation is temporary.

-- Abbott launched a program to help pay for its injectable autoimmune disease drug, Humira. Even many people with insurance coverage will not have to pay more than about $5 per month for the drug, according to the company.

Information: 800-448-6472.

-- Together Rx Access recently eased the income rules for its discount drug card. Eligibility now starts at $45,000 a year for a single person (up from $30,000) and runs up to $105,000 for a family of five (up from $70,000).

The free card, whose sponsors include Pfizer and Novartis, is designed to benefit legal U.S. residents without public or private prescription coverage who don't qualify for Medicare. Discounts on more than 300 drugs average 25 to 40 percent, according to Christopher Loder, a spokesman for Pfizer.

Information: http://www.togetherrxaccess.com or 800-444-4106.

-- Rx Outreach has added more than 100 drugs to the nearly 300 generics that it will provide for anyone with a U.S. address whose income is no greater than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. (That's $32,490 for an individual, $66,150 for a family of four.)

Information: http://www.rxoutreach.com or 800-769-3880.

Jeff Trewhitt, a spokesman for the pharmaceutical trade association PhRMA, says that because companies are reevaluating their programs, it is worth checking your eligibility even if your income level kept you from getting assistance previously.

For information on all drug company assistance programs, as well as some offered by patient organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation, check these two clearinghouses:

RxAssist (http://www.rxassist.org or 401-729-3284), which is sponsored by several organizations, including drug companies, and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (http://www.pparx.org or 888-477-2669), which is sponsored by PhRMA. Both list many of the same programs.

Source

April 7, 2009