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My best friend is on Medicare with a supplemental plan. She has been fighting cancer and just went through a 12 hour surgery. Doctors have her on several expensive medications with out of pocket expenses of over $400. Does anyone have any recommendations on who she could go through to get the medication costs reduced???


Thank you!


Becky G

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The American Cancer Society has financial resources.
Also, The Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (CFAC) is a group of national organizations that provide financial help to patients. CFAC provides a searchable database of financial resources. CancerCare (800-813-4673) provides limited financial assistance for co-pays, transportation, home care, and child care.
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Also ask your doctors. They can help patients in your situation.
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Ask the medical facility where she had the treatments/surgeries if they have any clinical trials.
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For very expensive drugs it is best to write the consumer assistance department. You can find their addresses on their websites. A real pen and paper letter gets the best results. Email tends to get lost in the shuffle. Explain why you need the cost support syste. Also, tell what drug insurance program you have. You can also apply to the Social Security Administration for their Extra Help program. Explain if you have multiple conditions requiring medications.
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The first thing to do is to ask the pharmacist. You have to explicitly ask them if there is any way to get the drugs cheaper. They are not allowed to volunteer that information. They are bound by the agreements they sign with benefits managers not to do that. You know that saying "First get rid of the lawyers." I would amend it to "First get rid of the benefits managers, lawyers are saints in comparison."

Pharmacists aren't allowed to volunteer if or how to get drugs cheaper. But they are allowed to answer if you ask explicitly. So ask. Many drugs are cheaper without insurance than with it. You heard me right. It can be cheaper to pay in cash with no insurance than to pay your copay with insurance. I always ask.

Unfortunately, for specialized drugs like for cancer. That will probably not be the case. Still doesn't hurt to ask. As others have pointed out, check with the manufacturers. Some will even have programs to waive the cost completely if someone is destitute.
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People on Medicare can use manufacturer coupons. Some pharmacy will even help you get a manufacturer coupon. Mine did! I would just look into different pharmacy, and ask if they could help with lowering the cost of some of the medications. You could be surprise how many pharmacy are willing to help.
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Actually that’s not entirely correct. My MIL was on Medicare and was able to use manufacturer coupons for a medication she was put on to try to slow the progression of her IPF.
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Those coupons from the manufacturer are for commercial pay folks, not those on Medicare. (Unfortunately). I guess the government would prefer those eligible for Medicare to chose a Part D Rx plan.
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the drug manufacturers may have coupons or financial assistance. Have her shop around different pharmacies in the area. Walmart and Costco tend to be way cheaper. Some pharmacies have their own prescription programs too. I had a cat on heart medication-lasix which is also given to humans-and the vet charged me the actual cost which was around $20 (30 pills) but fluctuated by a few dollars. The Target pharmacy only charges $4 for 30 lasix pills.
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