TRENTON, N.J. - Jaimy Gerler was frantic this past winter when the doctor prescribed yet another costly medicine for her toddler daughter, whose allergies had landed her in the hospital the winter before.
With her salesman husband's income selling tools for auto mechanics down and ,000 in hospital bills still unpaid from her daughter Taegan's premature birth, the Perryville, Mo., woman thought, "0 a month — how can we afford it?"
Gerler, who runs a day care in her home, is among the growing number of people seeking prescription medicines cheap or for free. The rising demand is a result of millions losing jobs and health insurance as the recession worsens, even as health care costs continue to rise 5 percent per year.
• http://www.rxhope.com
• http://www.needymeds.org
• http://www.patientassistance.com
• http://www.patientadvocate.org
• http://www.pparx.org
A host of programs offer uninsured patients help getting prescription medicines for free or at a discount.
Other programs offer inexpensive generic drugs, coupons for at least an initial prescription, even free antibiotics.
Here’s a sampling:
UMBRELLA ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
• Needy Meds, www.needymeds.org. Offers help getting more than 4,100 medicines, plus links to discount drug card and coupon programs, thousands of free or low-cost clinics around the country, programs offering medical equipment and supplies for specific diseases. Also has a glossary of insurance and related terms, and a tool to see if you’re eligible.
• Partnership for Prescription Assistance, www.pparx.org. Entry point for more than 475 different programs sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, government programs, health plans and charities.
• Patient Advocate Foundation, www.patientadvocate.org. The most comprehensive patient assistance program, offering far more than help in getting free or discount prescriptions. Provides help paying for surgery or large copayments for medical care, child care while patients are getting treatments, even transportation to treatments. Has specialized case managers who can help with a multitude of financial health care issues.
• PatientAssistance.com, www.patientassistance.com. Has links to more than 1,000 prescription-assistance programs, free clinics and programs that help with copayments for treatment for cancer and rare and chronic diseases.
• Rx Assist, www.rxassist.org. Links to state-run assistance programs and programs to help with drug copayments, a search-by-drug-name for available help, online patient education.
• Rx Hope, www.rxhope.com. Offers online assistance applications, links to medical group, patient advocate and drug company sites.
• State assistance programs, www.ncsl.org/programs/health/drugaid.htm
DISEASE-SPECIFIC PROGRAMS
• Heart medications, www.heartsupportofamerica.org
• HIV and AIDS drugs,
www.atdn.org
• Kidney diseases, www.kidneyfund.org
• Lung medications, www.caringvoice.org
• Rare diseases, www.rarediseases.org/programs/medication
DRUG DISCOUNT CARDS
• Together Rx Access, www.togetherrxaccess.com. Offers free cards accepted at most pharmacies, in every state and Puerto Rico, that can get you prescription discounts of 25-40 percent. Has nearly 1.9 million members who have saved more than million since it began in 2005.
• Pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline offer discount cards good for their own medicines. AstraZeneca has one just for Medicare Part D recipients.
• Needy Meds offers its own discount card, as well as links to states that offer cards.
INEXPENSIVE GENERICS
• Many major discount and pharmacy chains offer dozens, if not hundreds, of the most widely used generic medicines for as little as - per month, or - for a three-month supply. Some supermarket pharmacies offer similar programs. Drugs available are listed on their Web sites. Those include:
• www.walmart.com/pharmacy
• www.target.com
• www.kmart.com
• www.walgreens.com
FREE SAMPLES
• Ask your doctor or health clinic whether they have free samples of any medicine they are prescribing for you.
FREE ANTIBIOTICS
• Several regional supermarket chains this winter began offering antibiotics for free to draw customers into their aisles.
Sources: Patient Advocate Foundation, AP research