So Drug Company Assistance Programs May Still Be Needed -

An internal medicine practice calculated drug expenses for 137 low-income Medicare patients without drug prescription coverage who had, at some point, received aid from pharmaceutical company assistance programs (Article, p. 600).

Authors put the patients into one of four hypothetical groups: no financial assistance, aid from pharmaceutical programs, Medicare drug discount cards (providing transitional assistance) and the new Medicare prescription benefit, which will take effect in 2006. They then figured out-of-pocket expenses for the patients' prescribed drugs.

For these low-income people, the pharmaceutical programs offered the most savings. All plans provided cheaper drugs than having no coverage. Month-to-month expenses for the two Medicare programs varied, depending on deductibles.

The authors say that before enrolling in a new drug benefit program, individuals should "consider their eligibility for low-income subsidies and their prescription needs and projected costs; for some seniors, such alternatives as pharmaceutical company assistance programs may provide more cost savings."

Annals of Internal Medicine is published by the American College of Physicians. These highlights are not intended to substitute for articles as sources of information.

Susan Anderson
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215-351-2656
American College of Physicians
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for Oct. 18, 2005
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