Finding Financial Assistance for Prescription Medicines

Many of us have difficulty paying for all the prescription drugs our loved ones often need.

I've found a number of other tips here and there that may be helpful. These are quotes from people posting on various websites -- not necessarily my own opinions.

http://www.needymeds.org/ is an excellent data base for finding help with the high cost of medicines.

If your loved one has limited financial resources, s/he may be eligible for reduced fees through Medicare or Medicaid. In addition, some state plans coordinate with Medicare Part D to offer low-income seniors inexpensive coverage. (Check with your state to find out whether it has such a program.)

Medicare Part D patients whose incomes are at or below the Federal Poverty Level qualify for the LIS program, more commonly known as Extra Help program. This program like many others does require patients to re-enroll each year. This program is administered through the Social Security Department and one can apply either online or in person or in some cases with the various drug manufactures. The whole process takes approximately 10 - 15 minutes if doing so with a rep who is familiar with their program.

Medicare B pays for blood glucose testing supplies, so be sure to get this provided thru Medicare. I recommend the Medicare plublication "Medicare Coverage of Diabetes & Supplies - 11022", available on the medicare.gov website, to help sort out who pays for what.

If your loved one is a veteran, s/he can obtain prescription drug coverage with a lower co-payment through the Veteran's Administration.

If not covered by insurance go to www.silverseniorcare.com and enroll in a FREE discount prescription drug plan. The plan is accepted at more than 40,000 pharmacies. All prescriptions are covered. Last year the average savings in the plan was 26%. While at the site review the other services that are available.

You can also check the Walmart.com pharmacy to see if the specific meds needed are available for either $4.00 per month or $10.00 for a ninety day supply.

Prescription Assistance Programs of America charges $50.00 a month for unlimited prescriptions and handles all the paper work, refills and signatures. Their website is www.simplefill.com or you can call them at 1-877-420-6496.

If you are an AAA (American Auto Association or "Triple A") member, you can present your AAA membership card at any participating pharmacy and get surprisingly good discounts on any medication. This applies only IF you have no prescription drug coverage.

If you have access to a computer, you can make a list of every medication you use, go to the medication's website (just google it to locate the website) and find all sorts of coupons and program cards for discounts on name brand drugs. This is especially helpful for some of the newer, "designer" medications which are not available in generic.

It doesn't hurt to identify the manufacturer shown on your prescription bottle, then call their marketing/customer service dept. They may not offer direct sale or ways to avoid paying for the meds. We found Aricept has a helpful caregiver program and a RN will follow the caregiver with an educational outreach to help the CG stay healthy (they stayed in contact with us for several months).

Patient assistance programs are run by pharmaceutical companies to provide free medications to people who cannot afford to buy their medicine. http://www.rxassist.org/ offers a comprehensive database of these patient assistance programs, as well as practical tools, news, and articles so that health care professionals and patients can find the information they need. All in one place.

http://www.rxoutreach.org/ has about 200 drugs that you can get a 3 month or 6 month refill for anywhere from $20 to $35 (for 3 month) depending on what's it's for.

If you need meds for stress, nerves or depression, your local county mental health department will supply them for about $5 a script.