Patient Choice Programs
The following article includes information on how to access brand name drugs at a reduced cost. While these programs may be useful to people with Parkinson’s, Parkinson Society British Columbia (PSBC) would like to emphasize that, if your current course of medications are effective for you, changing your treatment method may impact your symptoms and side effects. Individuals can respond differently to different brands of the same medication. Be sure to consult with your healthcare team if you are considering pursuing a new course of treatment.
As patents end for brand name medications, generics are often produced and made available to patients. These generics, which are of the same or similar chemical composition as brand name pharmaceuticals, cost less as the companies producing them benefit from the development work done by the brand name company. BC PharmaCare will only provide financial coverage to the level of the lower cost generic.
Although the medication is the same, sometimes the other ‘fillers’ or coatings are different and some people with Parkinson’s find they do not receive the same symptom control. If this is the case for you, some financial assistance may be available as follows.
Across Canada there are a number of patient payment assistance programs offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers that provide savings on brand name prescription medicines. Most of these programs are free, but as they may be challenging to find, a number of organizations now specialize in helping to connect patients with these programs.
RxHelp.ca is an example of such an organization and they offer two programs that may be useful to people with Parkinson’s disease.
- Patient Choice Programs: Allow the patient to remain on their brand name medicine with little or no additional cost over the generic equivalent.
- Patient Assistance Programs: Help offset or reduce the out-of-pocket patient costs that are not covered by the patient’s public or private drug plan. Some or all of the out-of-pocket patient costs will be paid by the manufacturer of the product up to a defined maximum.
To access these programs, you will need an RxHelp card, which you can obtain for free through the website. The Merck MyChoice™ Card, which is a branch of RxHelp cards, is the most useful for patients who would like to take SINEMET® and SINEMET® CR medication. The Merck MyChoice™ Card helps to offset the difference between brand name SINEMET® and SINEMET® CR with the costs of generic versions of levodopa/carbidopa.
For a list of the medications covered by RxHelp, visit www.rxhelp.ca
InnoviCares is another company that offers a free savings card to help Canadians save on select prescription medications, healthcare products and services. With innoviCares, individuals can receive brand name SINEMET®, SINEMET® CR and AZILECT®, as prescribed by their physician. InnoviCares can cover the cost differential between brand SINEMET® and the generic levodopa/carbidopa. It can also cover a portion of your out-of-pocket expenses for brand name AZILECT®. Learn more at www.innovicares.ca.
Regardless of the company you choose, you will need to present a valid new prescription or an existing refill prescription at your retail pharmacy. Ask for brand name (no substitutions) and provide the pharmacist with your RxCard or innoviCares card. Each individual will have unique coverage based off of what their personal extended health benefits cover.
This content was published in the Winter 2017 edition of our quarterly magazine, Viewpoints. The content was accurate as of this publication date.