SelectCare Benefits Network: Patient Assistance to Reduce High Prescription Medication Costs.

Patient Assistance Programs

To combat the problem of unaffordable medications, many Pharmaceutical Companies have developed Patient Assistance Programs (PAP's). These programs help patients maintain their health and well being by offering prescription drugs at either no cost or a small co-payment for the patients who qualify. Unfortunately, though these programs have been around for years, they are often unheard of by the people who need them most because no one has a vested interest in promoting them.

Also, most Patient Assistance Programs involve a large amount of red tape that prohibits most people from utilizing them. Still, when used properly, many Seniors and low-income families can get prescriptions for little or no cost. Members of SelectCare Benefits Network will receive unlimited access to our turnkey assistance with over 200 different Patient Assistance Programs covering over 1400 medications.

Just The Facts

45 million Americans were uninsured in 2003, up from 43.6 million in 2002.
Uninsured U.S. residents incurred nearly $41 billion in uncompensated health care in 2004.

How We're Helping
These industry-sponsored assistance programs have resulted in tens of millions of prescriptions filled for uninsured and low-income Americans

In 2002: 13,387,890 prescriptions were filled.
In 2003: 18,160,523 prescriptions were filled.
In 2004: an estimated 22,119,664 prescriptions were filled.

The wholesale value of the prescription medicines that were provided through these programs was in the billions:

In 2002: $2,446,924,763
In 2003: $3,478,004,058
In 2004: an estimated $4,179,393,960

Sources

2005 PhRMA Survey
Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003
"The Economic Downturn and Changes in Health Insurance Coverage, 2000-2003." Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. May 2004: Release

Who Qualifies
Each pharmaceutical company has it's own criteria for qualification to receive medication assistance. In general, the patient must:

Be a U.S. resident.
Have no insurance coverage for outpatient prescription drugs.
Be at an income level that causes a hardship when required to purchase the medication at retail prices.

The applicant's income must fall within limits established by each individual program sponsor. Although income limits vary from program to program, typical qualifiers have an income below $20,000 annually for an individual and $31,000 annually for a couple. All decisions on which drugs to be included in the programs and on which individuals will receive prescription assistance are made by the various program sponsors, not by SCBN.