Worried about having no coverage?
There is an ever-increasing number of Americans – many of them seemingly well-employed – who rare living on the edge medically: they don’t have health insurance.
To help those people who have little or no medical, or prescription insurance, three pharmaceutical firms – Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Eli Lilly - have tried to provide a cushion. With the Pfizer for Living Share Card™ you pay $15 for up to a 30-day supply of each Pfizer drug. With Medicare, you may qualify to pay only $15 for each Pfizer drug. If you qualify, the Pfizer Share Card can be used at a local pharmacy that takes the card. Not all Pfizer medicines are covered, and certain limitations may apply with respect to specific drugs. To speak with someone about program questions anytime, call 1-800-459-4156.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Orange Card is designed for participants to realize of 30% off the usual price they pay for outpatient GSK medicines. GlaxoSmithKline estimates as many as 11 million seniors could be eligible for the Orange Card program. Those eligible are senior citizens age 65 and
older and the disabled who are enrolled in Medicare who: Have annual incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level (annual incomes at or below $26,000 single or $35,000 for a couple) and lack public or private insurance programs or other pharmaceutical benefit programs, such as Medicaid.
The Orange Card is free. Applications are available through health-care providers or by calling toll-free 1-888-ORANGE6. Seniors present the card with their prescription to their pharmacist to save on GSK outpatient prescriptions.
Eli Lilly offers the "LillyAnswers" card to allow seniors and people with disabilities under Medicare to pay a flat $12 fee for a 30-day supply of any retail distributed Lilly drug. Excluded are controlled substances or any products not distributed by retail pharmacies. Those eligible for the LillyAnswers card are: U.S. citizens, Medicare-enrolled seniors and people with disabilities, no other prescription drug coverage, and individuals with annual income below $18,000; household income below $24,000.
To apply, eligible seniors and disabled persons can call 1-877-RX-LILLY. The applicant will receive a short application form to fill out and return along with copies of their most recent tax return and Medicare card. Once the application is processed and eligibility confirmed, it will take 2-4 weeks for the eligible applicant to receive their LillyAnswers card. Once the patient is enrolled in the LillyAnswers program, the card is good for 12 months. After 12 months, the patient will have to qualify again through the application process.
Minnetonka, MI-based Medica has introduced the Medica Prime Solution Rx Rider, a pharmacy benefit for Medicare
members which provides broad-based coverage for both formulary generic and brand-name formulary drugs at an affordable price.
According to the Minnesota Senior Federation, 40% of Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug coverage.
David Tilford, president of Medica, said, "While this is a complex, national issue, we want to do our part to help Medica's
Medicare members get the prescription medicines they need at a price they can afford." He noted that most current prescription
coverage options are either expensive, too limited to meet the needs of most Medicare beneficiaries, or unavailable to Medicare
beneficiaries because of underwriting. Current benefit plans for
Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries have premiums ranging from $100 per month to more than $900 per month.
The Medica Prime Solution Rx Rider has a monthly premium of $39 per month and provides coverage for all formulary
generic drugs for a co-payment of $11 per prescription. In addition, the plan will cover up to $30 per prescription for brand-name
formulary drugs, which amounts to approximately 43% of the cost of an average-priced brand-name drug. There are no annual limits
on the benefit for either formulary generic or brand-name drugs, and no underwriting requirements.
Medica Prime Solution Rx Rider will be available Jan. 1 to all new or current Medica Prime Solution(SM) members
regardless of any pre-existing health conditions. This option is available for 2004-2005, to bridge the gap until 2006, when an
anticipated Medicare drug benefit should be available.