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Manufacturer Assistance Programs for Expensive Prescriptions

Use the free tool — Prescription Price Cutter

If you are skipping doses because of the cost

Tell your prescriber and pharmacist today. They can often help the same day. Never stop, skip, split, or change a medicine or dose without your prescriber.

Manufacturer assistance programs

Many drug makers run patient assistance programs, especially for brand-name drugs that have no generic. You can search every manufacturer and charity program for a drug by name.

• Medicine Assistance Tool · NeedyMeds — search by the drug's name.

Ask your prescriber's office whether they know a manufacturer program for your specific drug. Many of these programs do not require insurance.

If you have Medicare Part D

• The most you pay a year for covered Part D drugs is $2,000, and insulin is capped at $35 a month. See Medicare.gov — Part D costs.
• Extra Help pays most Part D costs for people with limited income. Apply free at Social Security: SSA — Extra Help.
• If your drug is on a high formulary tier, ask your plan for a tiering exception or a formulary exception. This needs a letter from your prescriber.
• During Open Enrollment (Oct 15–Dec 7), compare plans on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder using your actual drug list.
• Florida SHINE, free and unbiased Medicare counseling, can help with all of this: 1-800-963-5337. Florida SHINE.

If you have no insurance

• Community health centers charge on a sliding scale by income, and many have low-cost pharmacies with 340B pricing. HRSA — Find a health center.
• Manufacturer assistance programs often require no insurance — search by the drug's name through the Medicine Assistance Tool above.

Generics and discount cards

According to the FDA, an FDA-approved generic must meet the same standards as the brand-name drug. Ask your prescriber whether a generic or therapeutic alternative is appropriate for you. See FDA — Generic drug facts.

Prices differ by pharmacy. Ask for the cash price and the discount-card price as well as the insurance price, and compare them. Discount cards usually cannot be combined with insurance on the same fill, and that fill may not count toward your deductible. Some pharmacies also have retail $4 generic lists — ask.

What to do next

The free tool reads the drug, dose, what you pay, and your coverage that you type in — nothing is stored. It shows the cheaper paths that exist for that drug and that coverage, in order, what each one needs, and what to say at the counter.

This is not medical, pharmacy, or insurance advice, and it can be wrong. Never stop, skip, or change a medicine without your prescriber. Confirm any program or price with your pharmacist, with Florida SHINE at 1-800-963-5337, or with your clinic.

Prescription Price Cutter explains ways to lower prescription costs in plain language from official sources; it can be wrong, and it is not medical, pharmacy or insurance advice. It never states a drug price. Talk to your prescriber before any change. Nothing you type is stored.