Pharm Aid: Here’s better drug company news. Pharmaceutical companies are offering discount programs to financially strapped senior citizens:
About 350,000 American senior citizens, including 18,000 in Ohio, have enrolled in Pfizer's program since it launched last year.
``Our most difficult challenge is certainly reaching the seniors,'' Harper said. ``They just don't believe that there's hope out there.''
The discount plans from various drug companies have financial requirements. Most target Medicare recipients who can't afford an insurance plan that has drug coverage but whose income is too high for them to qualify for state-run Medicaid programs.
Pfizer's card, for example, sets a maximum annual income of $18,000 per individual or $24,000 per couple. Assets are not included in the eligibility review.
Some discount programs, such as Pfizer's, let qualified low-income seniors buy their drugs for a flat fee.
Others, including one called Together RX from a consortium of drug makers, give people a percentage discount off the price of their prescriptions at participating pharmacies.
The average saving from a free Together RX card ranges from 20 percent to 40 percent on medicines for common conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, allergies, asthma, arthritis and depression.
The woman profiled in the article dropped her monthly drug bill from $300 to $15. Hard to beat that. Cynics say that it’s just a bait and switch con, but so far no one’s complained of a switch.
If you or someone you know could benefit from such a program, here’s a list. And here are some more:
RxHope.com
Assistance Programs via Medicare.
Rx Assist
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