AARP Prescription Savings Card
Organization: AARP
Information: (800) 289-6031
Began: 1959
Participants: 3.5 million enrolled in Health Care Options
Benefits: Savings of 15% on brand-name drugs and 50% to 55% on mail-order generics.
Eligibility: AARP members and their spouses.
Sources: Pharmaceutical companies, Walgreens, AARP

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
This federal agency provides information on public and private programs which offer discounted or free medication, as well as Medicare health plans that include prescription coverage. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or log on at www.medicare.gov/Prescription/Home.asp.

Living Share Card
Company: Pfizer
Information: (800) 717-6005
Began: January 2002
Cardholders: 80,000
Benefits: Low-income and disabled Medicare recipients can get any Pfizer drug for $15 a month.
Eligibility: Unless disabled, annual income must be less than $18,000 for singles, $24,000 for couples.

LillyAnswers Card
Company: Eli Lilly
Information: (877) RXLILLY
Began: March 2002
Cardholders: Not available
Benefits: Low-income and disabled Medicare recipients can buy most Lilly prescription products and insulin for a monthly flat fee of $12.
Eligibility: Annual income must be less than $18,000 for singles or $24,000 for couples. Must not have any other prescription drug coverage.
Call toll free 1-877-RX-LILLY (1-877-795-4559); log on at www.lillyanswers.com

Merck Patient Assistance Program
Company: Merck & Co.
Information: (800) 727-5400
Participants: 350,000
Benefits: Free medications shipped directly to homes for up to one year; all Merck products except vaccines and injectable drugs.
Eligibility: Any patient of any age who lacks drug coverage. Income must be less than $18,000 for singles and less than $24,000 for a household.

Novartis Care Card
Seniors who earn $18,000 per year or $24,000 per couple can buy Novartis medications for $12 per drug. Those making $18,000 to $28,000 per year or $24,000 to $38,000 per couple will save 20 to 40%.
Call 1-866-974-CARE (1-866-974-2273) or log on www.careplan.novartis.com.

Orange Card
Company: GlaxoSmithKline
Information: (888) 672-6436
Began: January 2002
Cardholders: 55,000
Benefits: Purported savings of 30%, on average, on a variety of the company’s drugs.
Fees: None
Eligibility: Annual income at or below $26,000 (singles) and $35,000 (couples). Cannot have public or private insurance or other drug benefit programs, such as Medicaid.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
This trade association publishes a free guide to drug assistance programs. For a copy call toll-free 1-800-762-4636 or you can print it off their website, located at www.phrma.org.

Pfizer Share Card
Enables senior citizens to buy a 30-day supply of any Pfizer prescription medicine for a flat fee of $15 per drug per month.
Call 1-800-717-6005
www.pfizerforliving.com.

RxHope.com
Doctors, physician assistants and doctors’ office managers can access prescription drug assistance programs for their patients via the Internet. Contact RxHope at 908-850-8004 .
www.RxHope.com.

Together RX Card
Companies: GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Novartis, Abbott Laboratories, Aventis, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca
Information: (800) 865-7211
Begins: June 2002
Benefits: Purported savings of 20% to 40% on 130 to 150 brand name drugs produced by the companies.
Fees: None
Eligibility: For Medicare recipients with no prescription drug coverage. Income less than $28,000 annually for singles, $38,000 for couples.
Log into their web site at: www.together-rx.com. In Spanish: www.together-rx.com/espanol/index.html.

Walgreens Senior Dividends Card
Company: Walgreens
Information: Available at any Walgreens pharmacy.
Began: March 2002
Cardholders: Not available
Benefits: Technically not a discount card. A 10% rebate on the price of the drug purchased is added to the card, which can be used for purchases at Walgreens.
Fees: None
Eligibility: For people 55 and older who don’t have drug coverage and don’t participate in a government assistance plan.

Gail R. Mitchell

Author

  • Ms. Mitchell began her full-time caregiving experience in the early eighties when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Later on she became the primary caregiver for her father, along with her mother who had become critically ill from burnout prior to her dad’s passing. In recent years, she cared for several friends with AIDS while continuing to care for her mother and actively providing support, information, referrals and resources for caregivers.

    Gail's leadership on the Internet and her success with Empowering Caregivers led her to found National Organization For Empowering Caregivers (NOFEC) INC in 2001.

    Prior to founding NOFEC, she created the iVillageHealth Chat: Empowering Caregivers, which she hosted for over 5 years. Within a month of hosting she created Empowering Caregivers: www.care-givers.com in 1999 as a resource for caregivers around the globe. Over three million visitors have frequented the website.

    She has presented at national and international care-related conferences and programs and has been a keynote speaker for many programs as well.

    Ms Mitchell has assisted thousands of caregivers online and offline in ways to empower themselves in their roles in caring for loved ones.

    For a list of clients and/or her resume, please contact info@care-givers.com

    Gail's articles have been published in many venues nationally and in Canada. Presently, she is a member of American Society on Aging and National Quality Caregivers Coalition.

    Gail has discovered that there is life after caregiving: She has become a successful ceramic artist and installation artist. She created Crystal Illumination Art to bring the transformative quality of illumination, light and color to the human experience and celebrate its ability to inspire, heal and nourish our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

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By Gail Mitchell