Assistance programs other than Enliven for Enbrel?

[KatieScarlett]

I did get in the Enliven program but I'm afraid I won't be able to renew it b/c of my income bracket (hopefully they take debt into account :eek: ).

I have health insurance but it's reimbursable, meaning I have to shell out the $2700 to get the meds & they reimburse me for 80%.

Does anyone know of any other assistance programs I might be able to use? My doc is OK but she doesn't seem very knowledgable about the financial end of this stuff.

[ouchyk]

Hope you can find assistance,


http://www.psoriasis.org/advocacy/assistance/insurance/programs.php

Good luck,
Karen

[MikeK]

Hi Katie,

Several people who post were able to get help for for Enbrel thanks to a program called www.needymeds.com. Miranda (LadyFraser) was able to get assistance from www.needymeds.com while her husband was transitioning from being self employed (with no insurance) to working for the government (with excellent benefits). Links to her story can be found in a thread that was started by Leslie (Momtotwogirls). She took the time to post the links and information about several assistance programs that she came across. I added the links and information about other programs that people have either told me about or that have been discussed here on the board. We don't know very much about most of these programs but it can't hurt to check them out. Here's a link to Leslie's thread: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12379.

Also, Sue (beachbound) was able to significantly lower her Enbrel related co-payments after she called Enliven Services and they made arrangements for her to get Enbrel from a mail order pharmacy. Here's the links to the threads where she discusses her experience:

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11307;

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11753.

I hope this helps.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Mike

[wildflowerAnn]

I don't know about the assistance programs; but if your health insurance is through your employer; this is the time of year for open season on Health Savings Accounts if your employer participates. You can allocate a set amount for each month if you can make an educated guess about your total medical bills for 2007 that will be coming out of your pocket. This allows you to pay for your co-pays with tax free earnings. When you consider how much gross pay it takes before FICA, federal, state, and sometimes city income taxes; it is a substantial benefit in reducing the amount of funds needed to pay for the bills.
Ann

[KatieScarlett]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Hopefully one of these'll come through so I can continue mending.

Happy Thanksgiving! :)