Category: Drug Discount Card

Drug Discount Card, Health, Healthcare Reform, Prescription Drugs
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What is a Clawback & How it’s Affecting Your Prescription Copays

Americans may be surprised to learn that they could be paying more for their medications with their insurance copay instead of the cash price available to those without insurance. A study published last week found that Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) undermine claims that negotiated “rebates” with pharmaceutical companies are passed on to consumers. This follows a federal lawsuit filed over the summer after a California woman paid a $164 copay on a medication that can be purchased for $92 from the same pharmacy by anyone not using insurance. This practice is known as “clawback” and is instituted by PBMs who […]

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Drug Discount Card, Healthcare Reform, NeedyMeds, Patient Advocate, Patient Assistance
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20 Years of NeedyMeds

NeedyMeds is celebrating twenty years since starting as a website for those seeking assistance with the high-costs of prescription medications. In 1997, Richard Sagall, MD, and Libby Overly, MSW, MEd, both realized a need for a centralized resource for information on pharmaceutical Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs). Over our first ten years, we gained 501(3)(c) non-profit status, introduced our PAPTracker software for advocates helping patients with PAP applications, and started our first newsletter Patient Advocate News (now known as Patient Assistance News; aka PAN). In 2007, we began to expand the website from more than just Patient Assistance Programs to include […]

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Affordable Care Act, Clinics, Drug Discount Card, Health, Healthcare Reform
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Less than 10% of Americans Uninsured

Over 7 million previously uninsured Americans gained health coverage in 2015 as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka ObamaCare). In a previous blog post, we showed the impact the ACA had since its full expansion in 2014.   Since then, the uninsured rate has dropped to single-digits with 9.1% Americans remaining uncovered by insurance, a decline of 2.4% since last year.   The Affordable Care Act has been criticized by Republicans and has led to multiple attempts to repeal the health care law or states refusing to expand Medicaid to help the poorest uninsured Americans.  States that have […]

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Drug Discount Card, Health, Healthcare Reform, NeedyMeds, Patient Assistance, Prescription Drugs
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Insurers Drop Expensive Medications

It is no secret that drug prices continue to be a problem in the United States. In a previous blog post, we discussed the environment in which skyrocketing drug prices are allowed to take off.  It has continued to be an important subject to Americans and the ongoing presidential campaigns.  The growing issue of medications costs is punctuated with head-spinning facts such as drugs that are $1,000 per pill in the US costing as little as $4 in India, or the life-expectancy is higher in Costa Rica than the United States despite higher income and amount spent on healthcare by […]

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Affordable Care Act, Drug Discount Card, Health, Healthcare Reform, NeedyMeds, Patient Assistance, Prescription Drugs
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How to Find the Best Prices for Prescriptions

We are almost to 2016, and the high costs of prescriptions are still a huge problem for millions of Americans.  Despite laws like the Affordable Care Act (ACA), drug prices continue to vary and rise in ways that are often too much for patients to navigate.  A recent poll found that a third of those currently taking a medication experienced a spike in price in the past year. Consumer Reports was able to uncover a lot of information with a national price scan of five common generic drugs. With their findings in mind, there are tips one can follow to […]

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About Us

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.