Aids for people who can’t afford healthcare
It is a a choice that no one should have to make: Medicine or food. Millions of people in India cant avail proper healthcare facilities due to no proper income. 122 out of every 100,000 people in India die out of no proper quality of healthcare availed. 56% of Indians still do not have health coverage. With all of these horrors of poverty, the poor in India have to make a choice on health or food, the two basic amenities of life everyone deserves.
In India, we
have Patient Assistance
Programs that can be
used as an aid for medicines at low or minimal costs.
Patient Assistance Programs
Patient Assistance
Programs are usually
sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers and act as a very vital step in
saving overall treatment cost for patients. The goal of these programs is to
provide financial assistance to help these patients access drugs for little or
no cost. Pharmaceutical manufacturers may sponsorsuch programs that provide
financial assistance or free products to low income individuals as a part of
their corporate responsibility or as charity.
How do Patient Assistance Programs
work?
No two
programs are same. Most of the programs require filling up of a form requiring
details of the patient, their medical and financial condition and doctor’s
signature. Certain programs send the medicines directly to the hospital where
the patient is seeking help, others may send a certificate that can be used
with a pharmacist.
How to learn about information
regarding PAPs?
To learn
about PAPs, the most trusted source would be the internet. Most of the doctors
do not have the information on existing PAPs. Same applies to the pharmacists.
Many social workers have some idea of the existing programs and they can help
you. Many books and magazines can also have certain information on PAPs (given
that the information is not outdated, depending on when the book/magazine was
printed). So, the most updated and best place to learn about PAPs is the
internet. All Pharmaceutical companies with such programs have their own terms,
conditions and policies. All of which are mentioned on their website. It can
get difficult to get information for the same even on their website.
Qualifications for PAPs
Differenet
kind of PAPs have different qualifications. But there are certain aspects that
every PAP looks over before providing aid. They include the following:
- Disability/Health
Requirements:
Patients are required to submit a medical record and doctor’s
prescription. Depending on what disability/health requirement they have,
the assistance is supplied (i.e. whether the disorder matches the
objective of the program or not)
- Financial
Requirements:
Typically eligibilty is based on one’s income and it varies from program
to program. Many companies use the percentage system (how much percentage
of their income is spent in healthcare of the patient), while many
companies set a limit of income (say, people earning less than Rs. 1 lakh
per annum).
Benefits of PAPs
Every
program has a different structure. Typically they provide assistance in one of
the following ways:
- Reimbursement: The cost incurred in the
treatment of the patient can be reimbursed by the companies on provision
of the documents and receipt of payment.
- Coupons/Certificates: Certain companies provide
coupons or certificates to such people that they can use in pharmacies to
get their medicines instead of paying with money.
- Direct discount in
Hospital/Pharmacy: Some companies have direct tie up with pharmacies to provide the
products with discounts to such patients.
- Free product: In many programs, free products
are directly seen to be delivered to the hospitals for the treatment of
patients. Especially in the pandemic, this was seen very often.
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