Program helping Medicare users find reduced medication costs
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — How much are you paying for prescription medications? According to an East Tennessee insurance agent, on average, we're shelling out about $1,500 a year. There is a way you can save, you just have to do a little leg work.
Take, for example, Bobby Loftis of Knoxville. He depends on the asthma inhaler 'Breo.' The steroid spray helps the popular hairdresser, now retired, stay active on his farm and hiking with his wife, Candy.
'It keeps me from having asthma, totally,' Loftis said.
Until recently, Loftis was paying $400 a month, out-of-pocket, for the medication. He met with Madison Insurance Group agent Sammy Sawyer, who primarily helps people with Medicare. He alerted Loftis to the Pharmaceutical Assistance Program that linked him to the manufacturer of his inhaler to see if he could save some money.
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'What they will do is, there are two applications, so there will be the patient application form and then the prescriber form which will be the doctor, whoever is prescribing the meds. You submit it, and then if everything is right, what they'll do if you meet the qualifications, you'll get that at a lesser cost,' Sawyer said.
Loftis agreed to go online and fill out the necessary forms. To his surprise, the drug company sent him a three month supply of Breo.
How much did he have to pay?
'Zero,' said Loftis. 'Didn't cost me one dime. Nothing.'
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Find out more about the Pharmaceutical Assistance Program at www.medicare.gov. For other types of help in lowering your cost, visit www.ssa.gov.
Sawyer said be leery if you're looking for savings online and someone wants to charge you. There are also Medicare prescription payment plans, but Sawyer doesn't recommend those.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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