Drug Company Patient Assistance Programs

Nearly every major pharmaceutical company has a program to help those who cannot afford their medications. Each company has a number of criteria that have to be met for an individual to obtain free medication. Basically, there are two main criteria: insurance coverage and income.
Insurance Coverage
To qualify for assistance, you must not have any other health plan, either private or public, that covers prescription drugs. This means that even if you have health insurance, such as Medicare, as long as that insurance does not cover prescription drugs, you might still be eligible. Also, there should not be any state program that can cover you for that condition. So check with your state to see if you qualify. Just remember that even if your state has an assistance program, a special medical situation might allow you to qualify for assistance from a drug company.
Income
Usually, the patient must not earn above a certain income level to qualify for these programs. Sometimes the particular company states what that amount is, but in many cases there are no exact amounts that a company considers a cut-off point. These companies base their decisions
on a “hardship criterion.” In other words, you need to demonstrate that the cost of the medication represents a hardship to you because of your financial situation. You might earn up to $50,000 a year and still be eligible if your medications represent a significant portion of your expenses. Even a temporary hardship, such as a job loss or a divorce, can still allow you to qualify.
After you demonstrate that you have met its criteria, the drug company will send the medication to your doctor, who then gives it to you. Sometimes you can pick up the drug at your local pharmacy.
This program should be used for chronic conditions because the review process takes about two weeks or even longer, and obviously you can’t wait two weeks to treat a strep throat.
The companies usually supply from one to three months’ quantity of the drug. At the end of that period, the patient must recertify that they still meet the eligibility criteria to continue receiving the free medications.