If you're like me sometimes a visit to the doctor leaves you feeling a little bit of fear. Not because of what you'll find out once your doctor is finished examining you, but because of the prescriptions you might have to face after the visit. Many people have no insurance plans, which cover medications, and with the high cost of drugs these days sometimes a trip to the drug store can break the bank. The newer the drug the higher the cost. After all the drug manufacturer's only have a specified period of time to collect on the drug patent for the development and research of a medication. Everyone by now has heard of some medications that can cost up to ten or fifteen dollars per pill. Multiply that by 10 or 15 pills and it's enough to blow a big hole into any monthly household budget!
If you are one of the working "poor" with no prescription plan associated with your medical coverage and you require long term prescription drug intervention you can very quickly see your savings account go into the red. Some low-income patients may be able to get assistance from state or provincial programs available in your areas. Usually your local druggist can provide you with information regarding such programs. However even as good as these programs are at providing assistance there are always some people who fall through the cracks of the system. For those who do there is another option. Many of the drug manufacturer's also have "Patient Assistance Programs" where if you apply they may provide you with free medications. The guidelines and requirements of each program vary depending on the Drug Company. Your doctor might be able to provide you with details on how to apply for these programs. However some doctor's are just too busy or might not be aware of your financial need when it comes to these drug programs. So for those of you who seem to be slipping through the cracks there is a website where you can find out the basic requirement's for each drug companies program.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer's of America (PhRMA) site has created a directory of all the major drug companies and their requirements of their "Patient Assistance Programs". Just look up the drug company that manufacturer's your expensive drug to see if they have a program that meet's your need. If you don't know the Drug Company that produces your particular medication just ask your local druggist. Under each listing is information about how to make a request for assistance, what prescription medicines are in their program and the basic eligibility criteria. If you find that your drug company is not listed most of them are easily located in the major search engines such as Yahoo . Email the company directly and ask about their "Patient Assistance Programs", most if not all have similar programs in every country of the world.
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