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Health
Insurance,
Ten
TheWays
Basics
to Get
of
Health
Care Reform
Medications
Medicare
and
Resources
Discounted
orResource
Free
Artists Health Insurance
Center
www.ahirc.org
in
Chicago
Artists Health Insurance Resource Center
A program of The Actors Fund
www.ahirc.org
www.actorsfund.org
Dancers’ Health Insurance Resource Center
A program of The Actors Fund
A program of The Actors Fund with
www.actorsfund.org
support from The Doris Duke Foundation
Presenter:
Janet
Pearl,
Health
Services
Manager,
Al Hirschfeld Free Health
Presenter:
Presenter:
Jim
Elizabeth
Brown, Director
Tripp, Medicare
of HealthCounselor
Services,[email protected]
[email protected].
Clinic, [email protected]
Introduction
• Throughout this tutorial you will see questions. Click on the
question to find the answer.
• To navigate the presentation, use the buttons in the green area
below. They are just like the buttons on your DVD player. To
advance to the next slide, click the play button. You can also
advance to the next slide by clicking the forward button. To pause,
click the pause button. To go back, click the rewind button.
• You can also click on any of the slide titles in the outline on the left
to advance to that slide.
Generic Drugs
• You can save money by asking your doctor if the generic
option is appropriate for you.
• Generic medications have little or no difference in their
chemical composition from brand name drugs, and can
be much less expensive.
• Not all medications have generic versions.
Pharmaceutical Assistance
Programs
• Pharmaceutical companies offer free medications for
people who can’t afford their drugs.
• Websites like RxAssist http://rxassist.org and Needy
Meds www.needymeds.org offer extensive listings of
these programs and how to apply.
• On the following slide, we’ll show you how to navigate
the Needy Meds website.
Co-payment Assistance
Programs
• The Patient Advocate Foundation, www.copays.org,
assists financially and medically qualified patients with
their co-payments.
• RX Outreach, http://www.rxoutreach.org/ , is a non-profit
online pharmacy that charges low co-pays for over 400
medications for people who meet low-income eligibility
criteria.
Discount and Savings
Cards
• Drug discount and savings cards, while not insurance,
can provide savings.
• An example of this is New York City’s Big Apple RX,
www.bigapplerx.com.
• Together RX, www.togetherrxaccess.com, offers savings
on brand name and generic medications as well.
Chain Stores
• Some major retail stores offer low-cost medications.
• Target and Wal-Mart offer roughly 300 generic
medications for $4 for a 30 day supply.
• Kmart offers a 30 day supply for $5.
Mail Order Pharmacies
• If you have health insurance, ask your health plan if they
partner with a mail order pharmacy.
• There are often financial incentives for buying your
medications through a mail order pharmacy rather than
at a local pharmacy.
Samples
• Ask your physician for samples of your prescription.
They may be able to provide you with several months of
free medication.
O Canada!
• You may find savings by buying medications through
online Canadian pharmacies.
• All require that you submit original prescriptions written
by licensed physicians in the US that will then be
reviewed and rewritten by a Canadian doctor.
• Beware that buying medications through the internet
from a company outside the US can be risky.
State Programs for Seniors
• Many states have programs that help seniors.
• In New York, EPIC reduces the cost of medications for
low and moderate income seniors.
www.health.ny.gov/health_care/epic
Shop Around!
• Prices can widely vary from pharmacy to pharmacy –
shop around!
• To compare prices at local pharmacies, visit
http://cashcard.lc.healthtrans.com/Pages/DrugSearch.as
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