Drug companies offer seniors discount cards

OB/GYN News,  Feb 15, 2002  by Jennifer Silverman

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Pharmaceutical companies have answered the call for a Medicare prescription drug benefit by offering discount cards on their products to eligible seniors.

Physicians who meet with Novartis or GlaxoSmithKline sales representatives will hear all about the new programs, which can help eligible Medicare recipients save money on selected prescription drugs. Both programs were launched in January.

Jeff Trewhitt, spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Washington, said these discount cards are the latest approach to improving access to medications.

Both companies offer their cards free of charge to Medicare recipients with an annual income of less than 300% of the federal poverty level--about $26,000 per year for an individual or $35,000 for a couple. About 80% of Medicare recipients without prescription drug coverage--around 10 million Americans--may be eligible for the Novartis program, the company estimated.

The Novartis CareCard covers 36 drugs that are used extensively by older patients. These include drugs to treat hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders, and osteoporosis, as well as hormone replacement therapies.

Physicians should refer potentially eligible patients to a local pharmacy to help them fill out the paperwork for the card. Pharmacists will get a consultation fee for providing this service, said Jeffrey Thomas, vice president for customer marketing, economic development, and strategic alliances for Novartis.

GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Nancy Pekarek said the company's Orange Card covers all of its outpatient medicines and recommends that patients get the application directly from a physician's office. It's the most convenient place for patients to get it.

Sales representatives will provide physicians' offices with the appropriate materials to help their patients apply for the program.

At press time, Pfizer announced its plans to begin offering a discount card to Medicare patients on March 1. The Pfizer Share Card will enable eligible seniors to purchase a 30-day supply of any Pfizer prescription medicine for a flat fee of $15. To qualify, individual Medicare recipients must have an annual gross income below $18,000 and have no other prescription coverage. Couples who file joint tax returns must have an annual income below $24,000 to be eligible and have no other prescription coverage.

This initiative took drug companies where the federal government wasn't allowed to go. The Bush administration's 2001 proposal for a Medicare discount card was shot down by a federal district court, which agreed with a complaint from pharmacy groups that the administration lacked the authority to create such a program without congressional approval.

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to review comments on a discount drug card program. Once the comment period ends this spring, HHS, in one possible course of action, may revisit the issue with the judge.

The administration in the meantime has generally supported the industry initiative. HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson called Glaxo's Orange Card "the kind of approach we need," when the program was announced in October 2001.

Tom Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, had a more cautious reaction when Pfizer announced its discount card in January. "Pfizer's effort is a good effort if it helps people get Lipitor for $15."

Using the market to get discounts for seniors, however, is only a short-term answer, he said. HHS' objective is to cover all Medicare beneficiaries, not just those who fall within a certain income level.

John Rector, general counsel for the National Community Pharmacists Association, wasn't surprised that HHS was supporting the pharmaceutical groups.

"It buys them more time" to find solutions to improve Medicare, Mr. Rector said.

Pharmacy groups still maintain that discount cards are not the answer--that seniors need a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit that gives them full access to medicines and pharmacy services.

"We don't welcome anybody setting our prices for their products," Mr. Rector said of the Novartis and Glaxo programs.

Dr. Leonard Fromer, who is chair of the Commission on Health Care Services for the American Academy of Family Physicians, said that the AAFP supports the general concept of improving access to drugs by removing financial barriers. The AAFP is still waiting for more details to emerge on the drug industry discount cards, he added.

The American College of Physicians--American Society of Internal Medicine is not commenting either "until we have analyzed the pros and cons of this type of discount card," a spokeswoman for the group said.

In announcing its program, Novartis challenged other pharmaceutical companies to provide the same kind of assistance to Medicare beneficiaries.

Mr. Trewhitt of PhRMA couldn't predict whether other pharmaceutical companies would follow this trend. The fact that several companies have created their own discount cards "underscores the importance for Congress to reach a competitive drug coverage [component] under Medicare," he said.

COPYRIGHT 2002 International Medical News Group
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning