Posts Tagged ‘Medical Insurance Coverage’

Prescription Drug Help For The Uninsured

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Anyone is entitled to receive prescriptions at a negotiated price regardless of their income, age or pre-existing conditions. There is a novel prescription medicine discount card available to anyone who wants it, and it is free of charge! For too long, individuals without health insurance have been paying full retail cost for their prescriptions however, by way of this novel program they will now have someone on their side.

There are numerous companies that have programs to lower the price of medicines to those patients with no medical insurance coverage. This has developed into quite an opportunity to save healthcare dollars among cardholders in the entire 50 states. Generally, these prescription medicine discount cards are acknowledged at over 80,000 regional and national pharmacies.

Several non-profit organizations and clinics supply the cards as a means to fulfil a need and help out their communities during challenging times. The discount cards have been delivered to regional United Way agencies, clinics, physician offices and pharmacies in addition to area community health centers. These cards are not health insurance, although they can bring down the cost of your prescriptions by up to 20 percent or more. The patient simply presents their card to the pharmacy and they are assured that they will pay either the pre-determined charge or the pharmacy’s retail cost, whichever is less.

There are patients that are saving $20 -$40 a month on a medication and those are dollars they can spend to buy groceries, pay the mortgage or pay the utility bill. Patients are also able to receive the prescription drugs they need. The cards are available at no cost to everybody and there is no limit on how often they can be used.

One more way that a number of companies are able to help uninsured patients is through Prescription Assistance Programs. These programs are operated by every drug company and each one is a little different. If a person qualifies however, they can receive their prescription drugs at no cost. To be eligible the person needs to be without health insurance and the family income can’t go above specific guidelines.

There is a huge need for prescription drug help currently, especially given that a lot of people continue to suffer the loss of their jobs. Many people need help at this point more than ever.

The Cost Of Expensive Medication

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

While the cost of prescription medication continues to increase, many Americans just simply do not have adequate personal medical insurance coverage for this expense and they need prescription drug help. In the United States, actual spending on prescription drugs went up 17.4% from 2005 to 2006 while the average cost of prescription drugs rose 10.2%. This everyone but creates a real burden on lower income, uninsured Americans who may be forced to choose between paying for much needed prescription medicine or food and housing. A recent Harris Poll of 1300 adults found that 23% of those surveyed had not filled at least 1 prescription for medicine during the year in order to save money. The problem is even greater in households with lower incomes. In households with incomes less than $25,000, 40% did not fill at least 1 prescription, and 30% took prescription medication less often than prescribed to save money.

It is estimated that close to 12% of all hospitalizations are because the patient wasn’t taking the medicine that their physician prescribed. For the vast majority it was because they couldn’t afford it. This creates a real burden for local hospitals and communities because if the patient couldn’t afford their medication, how are they going to be able to afford to pay the hospital bill?