Financial Assistance for Expensive Prescriptions

A dear friend of ours was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 38. This is not a typo. 38. With the rising cost of healthcare, and employer's forcing employees to pay higher premiums, we learned that this friend had to pay out-of-pocket share of $8,000. Her employer however started a collection fund amond her coworkers to help her offset the cost. But then the prescriptions were the next challenge-- burning through her savings like a wildfire. Weak and lethargic from the radiation, chemo...She didn't have the time or energy to research other sources, ie. Canadian distributors. There's a plethora online but which ones were reputable? Not scams? Not sugar pills?

Who has time? Well there ARE other solutions.
Thanks to The Assistance Fund, a nonprofit organization.

"We're an organization that helps people who've been prescribed some very expensive drugs and have insurance, but can't afford their co-pay or deductible," says Jeffrey Spafford, the nonprofit's chief executive officer.

The organization's Co-pay Funds are focused on 10 serious diseases that require highly specialized medications: breast cancer, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, non-small cell lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), psoriasis, and wet age-related macular degeneration.

"Whatever the health plan doesn't cover, we'll pick up on behalf of the patient," Spafford explains.

He says the funds help patients get the treatment they need without giving up the basic essentials of life.

"They're having to make the decision: Do I pay rent this month or do I pay my co-pay for these medicines I need? Or do I buy groceries?" he says.

Drug companies are actively offering their own drug co-pay cards, which can dramatically reduce the patients' share of the cost when buying brand names. Pfizer, for example, offers a discount card that brings the cost of its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor to $4 a month, a savings of up to $50.


There are now 300 different drug company co-pay programs. Consumers fill more than 100 million prescriptions using the cards, according to recent data. There is, however, a caveat: federal law prohibits the use of drug company-issued co-pay cards to patients on Medicare and Medicaid.

People who cannot use drug company-issued co-pay cards do have other options. Retail programs, such as Walgreens' Prescription Savings Club, offer help for patients with or without insurance. Membership in the Walgreens program costs $20 per year for an individual, $35 for a family. Benefits include significant discounts on brand name medications and access to thousands of generic drugs. The generic drugs price out under $12 for a three-month supply. For example, the full cash price for a three-month supply of cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin is $62.07; members pay $12, and save $50.70.

You can learn more about the Assistance Fund at http://theassistancefund.org/ or call 877.245.4412.


You must meet income eligibility requirements to qualify.

Drug company co-pay cards are usually available through a physician or directly on the manufacturer's website.

Applications for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club are available at retail locations or online at http://www.walgreens.com/.

As always, read all the fine print carefully and call to ask all your questions. Try to communicate via email so you have it in writing unless the drug company offers information online.