WILMINGTON, Del., May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The AstraZeneca Foundation today announced plans to further expand its Patient Assistance Program (PAP) to include seniors with limited incomes who are enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug coverage plan. AstraZeneca will take steps to ensure that low-income Medicare enrollees who experience financial hardship and meet the eligibility criteria will receive individual help from the AstraZeneca Foundation PAP within the guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG). Additionally, beneficiaries must be at or below 250% of the federal poverty limit and ineligible for the Medicare Limited-Income Subsidy to meet the eligibility criteria.
"We are committed to helping everyone get the medicines they need, including Medicare Part D enrollees, and we believe our expanded Patient Assistance Program will help reach those who need it most," said Tony Zook, President and CEO, AstraZeneca US. "AstraZeneca does not see Medicare Part D as a barrier to companies providing additional help to low-income seniors."
Zook commended the OIG, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and US Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) for their efforts to clarify the Patient Assistance Program rules. The OIG recently revised rules about how PAPs - which offer significant financial help in obtaining prescription medications - can work with Medicare's drug coverage.
The Company is establishing its interim solution while continuing to explore the best way to help low-income Medicare beneficiaries get their medicines at the pharmacy counter. AstraZeneca wants to help people with medications at the pharmacy, Zook said, because that is where people who are enrolled in Part D may experience a financial burden that prevents them from getting their medicines. The Company has been working with other companies for months on a potential multi-manufacturer approach. Recognizing that OIG approval of a multi-manufacturer model is still pending, the Company will also seek an opinion from OIG on an AstraZeneca program that helps people at the pharmacy counter when they are picking up their prescription.
"We are very pleased that AstraZeneca is taking this important step to help some of the most vulnerable people with Medicare by ensuring that they will continue to get the drugs they need while getting comprehensive coverage through the Medicare drug benefit," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. "It's a win-win: less burden on manufacturer assistance programs, and the benefits of drug coverage plus extra help from manufacturers."
Additionally, AstraZeneca has committed significant resources to providing outreach and education to seniors who are eligible for Medicare's drug coverage, with efforts targeted at seniors who qualify for the generous low- income subsidy (LIS). AstraZeneca supports the educational campaign My Medicare Matters, which is devoted to helping seniors understand the benefits of Medicare Part D.
"Medicare's prescription drug coverage offers significant help to America's seniors, and we will continue to work throughout this year to make sure people who qualify for extra financial assistance through the low-income subsidy can get it," Zook said.
Last month, the AstraZeneca Foundation enhanced its PAP to include immediate drug access, expansion of the income threshold for eligibility to 250% of federal poverty limit, and implementing one-on-one education and counseling to help all individuals identify and access health and drug coverage, assistance and services for which they may be eligible, including Medicare's low-income subsidy. The Company also announced that people eligible for Medicare and not enrolled in a prescription drug plan would remain eligible for the PAP past May 15.
AstraZeneca has a toll-free number where people can get information about its PAP:
The PAP Help Line is 800-424-3727.
For more than 25 years, AstraZeneca has offered drug assistance programs side by side with its medicines. In 2005, through the AstraZeneca drug assistance programs, AstraZeneca provided more than $751 million in savings to more than 712,000 patients without drug coverage throughout the US and Puerto Rico.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $10.77 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
AstraZenecaCONTACT: Andy Izquierdo, +1-202-350-5530, Andy.Izquierdo@AstraZeneca.com;or Carla Burigatto, +1-302-886-5953, Carla.Burigatto@AstraZeneca.com, bothof AstraZeneca
Web site: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/985887.html/
