June 9, 2020 |  written by IVX Health

Patient Tips for Finding and Enrolling in Financial Assistance Programs


With the growing cost of care – especially for specialty pharmaceuticals like biologics – combined with new health plans designed to shift more of the financial responsibility to patients, every penny counts. Worrying about covering healthcare costs shouldn’t be at the forefront of anyone’s thoughts. Fortunately, there are a number of non-profit organizations and drug manufacturers that provide patient assistance programs (PAPs) to help shoulder some – and sometimes even all – of the financial burden.

PAN Foundation

The Patient Access Network Foundation (PAN) strives to remove the barrier of cost that often holds patients back from accessing medications. In operation for 15 years, the PAN Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, which gives them the ability to help anyone, regardless of their current insurance provider. Their website is easy to navigate, and you can search by condition or by medication to get the most up-to-date information on what assistance they can provide.

In addition to their financial assistance, they also offer resources on navigating the insurance marketplace and other strategies to lower out-of-pocket expenses.

HealthWell Foundation

Founded with a mission to help protect underinsured individuals from rising medical costs, the HealthWell Foundation is a great resource for anyone whose health insurance doesn’t cover all of their necessary treatments. HealthWell is also a 501(c)(3) independent non-profit organization, and helps to cover all aspects of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, including copays, deductibles, and premiums. In 2019, they disbursed more than $610 million in grants to copay and premium grants to 150,000 underinsured Americans—a growth of more than 32,000 patients over 2018.

Good Days

Good Days is an organization that helps make it easy for individuals with chronic conditions to access financial assistance to pay for medications and treatment. Instead of having to search by an individual drug name or condition, you can fill out a single form with the details of your diagnosis, insurance, and current treatment plan. At the end, you’ll be told immediately what funds you’re eligible for. Good Days covers diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, Hepatitis C and COVID-19 emergency assistance with  91% of every dollar raised by the organization goes back into their patient funds.

Medicine Assistance Tool

In addition to signing up for a disease-specific fund with the non-profit organizations we’ve listed above, patients who need individual drugs covered can also find assistance from the drug companies themselves. Many pharmaceutical companies run their own financial assistance programs designed to help patients who rely on their products.

You can search for these drug-specific patient assistance programs on Medicare.gov, or you can use a private page like the Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT). This search engine is designed to help patients and their families navigate the various financial assistance programs available within the biopharmaceutical industry. Providing them as much information as possible about your socioeconomic background, household income, and insurance status will help them match you with the right program.

RxAssist

Another useful search engine that can help locate patient assistance programs within the pharmaceutical industry is RxAssist. It’s advertised as “the web’s most current and comprehensive directory of patient assistance programs.” It’s helpful to both healthcare professionals searching on behalf of patients, and patients themselves.

Treatment at IVX Health

If biologics like Remicade, Actemra or Orencia  are a part of your chronic illness treatment plan, then consider choosing IVX Health for your ongoing care needs. IVX Health makes it possible to receive your therapy in a comfortable, convenient, and private environment.

With a private suite for every patient, you can watch your favorite Netflix show or movie on the big screen TV in each room, use a laptop or other mobile device to surf the web, or simply hang out with family and friends. We always have chairs for guests, and each center has a family room that is spacious and private if you need to bring your kids to your treatment. We also offer flexible appointment scheduling – including evenings and Saturdays – at any of our convenient locations.

At IVX Health, we truly are invested in helping you live your best life. If you’re ready to experience a new kind of infusion clinic, click here to learn how to move your infusion or injection therapy to IVX Health.