Tag: High Cost Drugs

The Causes for Increased Cost of Medications

Medication prices continue to be a major concern for many Americans.  Recent months have seen a deluge of stories of drugs with $100,000+ price tags.  A 2015 poll found that a third of patients saw a price increase in their medications last year.  The problem is that these price increases have different causes, making it difficult to solve all the issues. With advances in science we have seen development of new, highly successful drugs sometimes costing as much as $1000 per pill.  These prices are often seen as justified when researchers look at the benefits of a curative versus the […]

Why Drug Prices Skyrocket

Drug prices continue to be a major concern for Americans.  According to a Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll published today, 77% of those surveyed said medication costs were their number one health concern, reflecting recent headline-making increases.  Furthermore, 63% support government action to lower prescription drug costs as a top priority. Compared to a study by the same organization from August, the results are largely the same with notably increased support of government intervention.   The United States is the only developed nation that allows drug makers to set their own prices. Throughout Europe, Canada, and Australia, governments negotiate […]

Qualifying with Medication Co-Pay Assistance for Specialty Medications

This post was written by Sandy Hope, Funding Specialist, and Justine Dolorfino, Social Media Specialist & Communications at Diplomat. Did you know that foundations and grants exist that may help patients afford their important specialty and limited-distribution medications? Getting started with co-pay assistance Each foundation has designated disease states or medical conditions that they support. Some diagnoses can be covered by several foundations. Others are only supported by one or two foundations. This can make it more difficult to find funding for some medical conditions because of a lack of funds available or because there is not enough funding for […]

What Is A Specialty Pharmacy And How Can One Help Me?

By Brenda Hawkes, Patient Advocacy Manager, and Justine Dolorfino, Social Media Specialist & Communications at Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy If you have a prescription to treat a serious disease or condition such as HIV, psoriasis, or cancer, chances are that you get your medications through a specialty pharmacy. You may have wondered what the ‘specialty’ in the title means and why that makes a difference.  We can help explain that here.   What Is A Specialty Pharmacy? Specialty pharmacy is a branch of pharmacy care that helps people with special and often long-term needs. These people include those with conditions like […]

Drug Discount Cards – Lifting the Veil of Secrecy

by Richard J. Sagall, MD, President of NeedyMeds   Everywhere you look you see claims of savings from drug discount cards. You may be skeptical when cards promise huge savings. And you should be because not all the claims are real.   Too Good to Be True The old saying “If it seems too good to be true then it probably is” applies to drug discount cards. Drug discount cards have the potential of saving you a lot of money, but you have to understand how they work. It’s important to remember that they all work basically the same way. […]

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Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.