Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday December 25, 2002
Lisa Baertlein

"I've always had insurance, so I didn't have to worry about it," said Osburn, an oncology nurse in Santa Cruz, California, who had been paying for her uninsured son's prescriptions until a cancer patient told her about NeedyMeds.com.

Health-conscious consumers have long used the Internet to find information on treatments, but little-known Web sites like http://www.NeedyMeds.com cater to millions of people seeking free or low-cost drugs because they are not insured or have limited finances.

NeedyMeds is a free site that was launched in 1997 by a home health social worker and a doctor. The site provides up-to-date information on 177 drug company-sponsored programs that help people get medication for little or no money, and has links to application forms for many of those same programs.

As a result of the tip, Osburn and her 25-year-old son are now in the process of applying for access to low-price medication through one of two patient assistance programs run by GlaxoSmithKline Plc. GSK.L http://www.ipp.gsk.com/

Osburn said the medicine, which costs $98 for 30 pills that last about a week, would cost between $5 and $10 for a 90-day supply under the drug maker's patient assistance program.

Osburn is now also using NeedyMeds' resources to help her father-in-law get his expensive prescriptions filled.

WORKING, BUT UNINSURED

Osburn's son currently is not employed. His wife has a job, but makes too little to afford the $800 a month that insurance would cost. And, he is not eligible for Medi-Cal, California's health care insurance for disabled, elderly and low-income individuals. As a result, Osburn has been helping to pick up the cost of his doctor's bills and medications.

GlaxoSmithKline is developing a new indigent patient program, but in the interim continues to run the one Osburn is tapping.

Eligibility for the current programs depend on the patient's household size, income and medical expenses. The company also requires that a doctor, nurse or nurse practitioner act as patient advocate. Patients must re-enroll on a regular basis and advocates must call the pharmacy before each refill.

"They don't want you selling the drug," Osburn said.

WIDESPREAD AND GETTING KNOWN

Almost every pharmaceutical manufacturer has some sort of patient assistance program, also known as a "prescription drug assistance program" or "indigent patient program."

Hundreds of drugs are available through the programs, including chemotherapy agents like Xeloda and Gemzar, acne drug Accutane, antibiotic Cipro and anti-impotence drug Viagra.

Drug makers don't advertise the programs and many doctors aren't aware of them, so lots of patients still go without the medicine they need.

Participation in the programs also takes commitment.

The required paperwork can get unwieldy, as patients must enroll and frequently renew with each company from which they receive drugs. Many programs also require that the patient work closely with a doctor, nurse or social worker.

Nevertheless, more and more people are using the programs as an avenue to needed drugs they otherwise couldn't afford.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry group known as PhRMA, estimates that during 2002 its members will have provided 14.1 million prescriptions with a wholesale value of $2.3 billion through their patient assistance programs. That's up from 8 million prescriptions valued at $1.1 billion in 2000, PhRMA said.

LAUNCHING POINTS

PhRMA's own site, at http://www.phrma.org/pap/, includes a directory of patient assistance programs from members like Pfizer Inc.PFE.N , Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY.N and WyethWYE.N .

People who receive Medicare -- government-sponsored health coverage for senior citizens and people who are disabled -- can start by visiting http://www.medicare.gov/Prescription/home.asp.

That site allows users to conduct regionalized searches based on medications or conditions. It also links to pages sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research, www.amfar.org, and PhRMA.

On other fronts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation targets health care providers with its Web site, http://www.rxassist.org.

Anne Paschke, spokeswoman for Richmond, Virginia-based United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) said transplant drugs can run "tens of thousands of dollars a year." Her group's Web site, http://www.unos.org, carries information about prescription drug assistance programs.

While PhRMA and its members support the programs, they said they are not a fix to this country's prescription-drug ills.

"While patient assistance programs are essential, they're not a substitute for expanded public access to life-saving, cost-effective medicines, particularly for seniors," PhRMA said on its Web site.

Among other things, PhRMA's members back prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.

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