Prescription Assistance Programs can help with deductibles

The beginning of the year can be especially stressful for me financially. Not just because I’ve attended to many holiday parties and bought too many gifts, but because my health insurance deductible resets. It doesn’t seem to matter how savvy I am with my Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account. I still seem to get kicked in the ass by that damn deductible every year.

I’m lucky to even have insurance. And I am lucky to be employed. Believe me, I am grateful. But I can’t imagine I’m the only one to get this kick in the butt each New Year’s Eve. So, I thought I would share some info on Prescription Assistance Programs that may help with paying less on your epilepsy medications.

Prescription Assistance Programs

Pharmaceutical companies and drug manufacturers very often have patient assistance programs. These are programs that will send you free or low cost medications. Sometimes they do this via a coupon, sometimes you need to request it monthly and sometimes it has to be done via your doctor. I’ll be honest it is a pain. But if it can save you thousands (and it can!!) then it is worth trying.

In some cases it can help to call the company directly or to apply for their program online. When you do call or search online you want to look for information on Patient or Prescription Assistance Programs.

SK Life Science – XCOPRI^®

Eisai – BANZEL®

Zogenix – FINTEPLA

Neurelis – VALTOCO^®

UCB – BRIVIACT^®, CIMZIA^®, NAYZILAM^®, VIMPAT^®

Jazz Pharmaceuticals/Greenwich Biosciences – EPIDIOLEX

Takeda – CARBATROL^®, VYVANSE^® 

Supernus – OXTELLAR^®, TROKENDI^®

AstraZeneca – TOPAMAX^®

RX Outreach – KEPPRA

If you don’t have insurance:

If you don’t have private insurance, I encourage you to visit the website, Needy Meds. There is no income requirement or membership fee. You could see up to an 80% discount on your prescriptions, which may still be expensive but is certainly better than nothing.

General Prescription Coupon Sites

These general prescription coupon sites work by comparing prices and various pharmacies in your area. They also offer you the ability to download a coupon to save a percentage on the full price of the drug. This can save a bit especially at the beginning of the year when you are paying out of pocket for the drug. These sites are helpful whether or not you have insurance. Some of the coupons may have specific requirements so take a peek at the fine print on the actual coupon.

GoodRX

WellRX

For Any I Missed

For other meds, (because we all have some other condition right) you can search these patient assistance programs by drug name or company name using the site RxAssist.

Jessica K. Smith Founder and CEO; Executive Director

Jessica Keenan Smith is a patient advocate and epilepsy community leader with more than 15 years of experience. As Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy and Executive Director of ASENT she bridges the gap between the scientific and patient communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the epilepsies. Jessica Keenan Smith is Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy, an award winning online resource for people affected by epilepsy to share stories and access in-depth information on the disease. Since 2009, Living Well With Epilepsy (https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com) has been featured in Forbes, Wired, NBC, NPR and the cover story of Epilepsy Advocate Magazine and has partnered with companies such as UCB, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Eisai, and more. Ms. Smith is also the Executive Director of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) (https://asent.org), an organization that brings together leaders from industry, academia, government and advocacy who are engaged in bringing drugs and devices to market across all neurologic disease states. In this role she is responsible for leading a successful scientific journal and annual scientific conference with speakers from all over the world.

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Epilepsy