Paying for Medicine

[erpowers]

Is there anything in the new healthcare reform law that assures that poor individuals will be able to pay the cost of their medicine? It seems that about one in seven individuals were unable to pay for the full cost of their medicine before the healthcare reform law.

[hyphenate]

1. I don't know about the new bill

but I know a decent amount about the cost of prescriptions.

California has a program called ATP (Ability to Pay)--at least they still had it 7+ years since I was there. To me, it didn't fulfill all my needs, but it did, at the least, helped to bring down the amount I had to pay.

Massachusetts has MassHealth, and a large portion of that is for people whose income is below certain federal guidelines. Under the plan, brand name prescriptions are $3, and generics are $2. There is an auxiliary program called Prescription Advantage which makes the cap on your prescriptions $18.

Under the Medicare Part D plan, the price can vary astronomically. If you are getting Medicare, you are allowed to decide which provider of Part D is best suited for your purposes. Each provider has a "formulary" which you have to compare with the medications you have to take, and see what provider carries the bulk of your medications. It's fairly complex, but Medicare has people who will advise you of the best matches if you tell them what you need. Plans are often tiered, where there is a "Bronze" plan, a "Silver" plan and a "Gold" plan, where the cost and coverage vary to the number of meds, the full cost, and the amount of the premium you get charged.

That's about all I can tell you, but people in other states can give you a rundown on each state's individual programs.

[elocs]

2. I am on BadgerCare Plus here in WI which is for low income adults without children.

It is Medicaid run by the state. I have 2 hypertension meds and I pay $4 for each one for a 3 month supply. So for me my meds will cost $32 a year. I cannot complain about that.