Requesting Patient Assistance from Pharma Companies
Part one of this tutorial series: Reporting Medication Issues (and Why It Matters). Also available on the wiki here.
So: medication costs. They're a lot. It's a big stressor, and stress isn't good for illness, so the cycle continues. What you may not know is most pharma companies have patient assistance programs for low-income patients!
Unfortunately, this isn't as straightforward as reporting medication issues. I can't just give you the basics of what you need to know, or what you need to have ready, because every program is different. I can tell you some of what you're likely to need, though.
- Proof of income. This is likely to be your most recent tax statements. So far as I can tell, in the US, a lot of these programs use 300% of the national poverty line as their criteria. As of the time of this post (14Nov2023), a 1-person household making $12,880 is the poverty threshold. This means if you make less than or equal to $38,640, you're likely eligible for these programs.
- Proof of need. This is probably your doctor's prescription. Some require your doctor to contact them directly; in this case, speaking to your doctor's desk staff is your next step.
Finding the patient assistance for your medication means searching the medication manufacturer and "patient assistance". I've compiled a list of patient assistance portals for some of the major pharma companies here.
This page is also in a tutorial on the wiki, so you don't have to search through the archive every time to find it.
As always, I'm more than happy to answer questions, though I can't promise I have the answers. Often, speaking to your doctor is the best option; they have to deal with pharmaceuticals regularly.
Good luck!