Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 May-Jun;28(3):827-34.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.3.827.

Drug company-sponsored patient assistance programs: a viable safety net?

Niteesh K Choudhry  1 , Joy L Lee, Jessica Agnew-Blais, Colleen Corcoran, William H Shrank
Affiliations

Drug company-sponsored patient assistance programs: a viable safety net?

Niteesh K Choudhry et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2009 May-Jun.

Abstract

Drug company-sponsored patient assistance programs (PAPs) provide access to brand-name medications at little or no cost and have been advocated as a safety net for inadequately insured patients. Yet little is known about these programs. We surveyed drug company-sponsored PAPs and found much variability in their structures and application processes. Most cover one or two drugs. Only 4 percent disclosed how many patients they had directly helped, and half would not disclose their income eligibility criteria. A better understanding of PAPs might clarify their role in improving access to medications, the adequacy of existing public programs, and their impact on cost-effective medication use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

EXHIBIT 1
EXHIBIT 1. Number Of Individual Drugs Covered By Drug Company–Sponsored Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs), 2007
EXHIBIT 3
EXHIBIT 3
Distribution Of Copayments Among Drug Company–Sponsored Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) That Require Payments, 2007
EXHIBIT 4
EXHIBIT 4
Income Eligibility Criteria For Drug Company–Sponsored Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs), 2007
EXHIBIT 5
EXHIBIT 5
Distribution Of Drug Company–Sponsored Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) That Allow Patients To Have Other Coverage, And Circumstances Under Which This Can Occur, 2007
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lester W. The Associated Press/Ipsos Poll: Almost a Third of Americans Say Paying for Drugs Is a Problem in Their Families. Feb 252004. [accessed December 21 2007]. http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2064#.
    2. Tseng CW, et al. Elderly Patients’ Preferences and Experiences with Providers in Managing Their Drug Costs. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2007;5512:1974–1980. - PubMed
    1. Steinman MA, Sands LP, Covinsky KE. Self-Restriction of Medications Due to Cost in Seniors without Prescription Coverage. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2001;16(12):793–799. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Choudhry NK, et al. Should Patients Receive Secondary Prevention Medications for Free after a Myocardial Infarction? An Economic Analysis. Health Affairs. 2007;26(1):186–194. - PubMed
    2. Choudhry NK, et al. Cost-Effectiveness of Providing Full Drug Coverage to Increase Medication Adherence in Post–Myocardial Infarction Medicare Beneficiaries. Circulation. 2008;117(10):1261–1268. - PMC - PubMed
    3. Tamblyn R, et al. Adverse Events Associated with Prescription Drug Cost-Sharing among Poor and Elderly Persons. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2001;285(4):421–429. - PubMed
    1. USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health. Health Care Costs Survey. Aug2005. [accessed 17 February 2009]. http://www.kff.org/newsmedia/upload/7371.pdf.
    1. Cubanski J, Neuman P. Status Report on Medicare Part D Enrollment in 2006: Analysis of Plan-Specific Market Share and Coverage. Health Affairs. 2007;26(1):w1–w12. (published online 21 November 2006; 10.1377/hlthaff.26.1.w1) - PubMed
    2. Goldman DP, Joyce GF, Zheng Y. Prescription Drug Cost Sharing: Associations with Medication and Medical Utilization and Spending and Health. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007;298(1):61–69. - PMC - PubMed
    3. Hsu J, et al. Unintended Consequences of Caps on Medicare Drug Benefits. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;354(22):2349–2359. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances