Millions of elderly, disabled are eligible for drug benefits

Millions of elderly or disabled Americans who may be entitled to financial help through Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit will receive applications for that help this month.

About 14 million people — a third of Medicare’s 43 million beneficiaries — are expected to be eligible for aid to reduce the program’s premiums, deductibles and co-payments, which can amount to hundreds of dollars a year. For the poorest beneficiaries, such help could cover virtually all of the costs, officials say.

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Los Angeles Times
June 3, 2005

Judge Rejects Patients’ Suit to Get glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor

A federal judge has denied a request by two people with Parkinson’s disease that he order Amgen to continue giving them a drug they used in a clinical trial that the company discontinued.

The lawsuit raised questions about the rights of patients in clinical trials. The patients accused Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, of treating them as “mere guinea pigs” and argued that the company had a legal and moral obligation to continue the treatment, which they said had eased their symptoms.

By ANDREW POLLACK
New York Times
Published: June 8, 2005

Test run indicates most elderly won’t apply for help with prescription drug costs

If an early test run is any indication, two out of five Medicare recipients eligible for extra help with their prescription drug costs next year will apply for that help.

Federal officials say they hope to improve on the 40 percent return rate when the applications go out nationwide during the next 12 weeks.

Advocates for the elderly were more wary. They said the success rate would have been much lower if the government had not intervened with telephone calls.

By Kevin Freking
Associated Press
May 28, 2005

SIMpill – Medication Dispenser

SIMpill – Medication Dispenser

A pill bottle which, when opened, delivers an SMS text message to a central server. The SMS contains a unique pill box ID number as well as some information about the battery status of the pill box. Each SMS is time stamped.

The central server receives the incoming SMS and, if it is within the time tolerances set for the pill box sending the message is simply stored for statistical purposes.

Should no message be received within the time tolerances then the server can be set to produce a number of responses (e.g. sending a text message reminder to the patient’s handset, sending a text message prompt to a family member or community based care giver, prompting them to visit the patient to ascertain the cause of non-compliance and provide assistance, sending a text message to a clinic based health professional or any other user determined response), or indeed escalate through these responses as time elapses with no incoming message in response to the previous outgoing message.

Data on levels of compliance as measured by the device are stored for future analysis and use.

Prescription prices more competitive when there are lots of elderly people about

If you want consistent prescription drug prices, maybe you should invite more senior citizens to move to town.

When pharmacies have many senior citizens as customers, they appear to price prescription drugs more competitively, says Adrienne Ohler, who received a master’s degree in economics from Montana State University this spring.

Medical News Today
May 29, 2005

Old Pills Finding New Medicine Cabinets

As the cost of prescription drugs climbs, more of the nation’s officials and consumers are weighing how to salvage at least $1 billion worth of unused drugs that are being flushed down the toilet each year.

Though the Food and Drug Administration generally forbids the redistribution of prescription drugs once they are dispensed to consumers, states are free to set their own policies for drugs controlled by nursing homes, long-term-care centers and other pharmacies.

By STEPHANIE STROM
New York Times
Published: May 18, 2005

Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online

Tips and Warnings for Consumers

With hundreds of drug-dispensing Websites in business, how can consumers tell which sites are legitimate ones, especially when it is very easy to set up a site that is very professional looking and promises deep discounts or a minimum of hassles?

If you buy medical products online, be aware of the following dangers:

* Purchasing a medication from an illegal Website puts you at risk. You may receive a contaminated or counterfeit product, the wrong product, an incorrect dose, or no product at all.
* Taking an unsafe or inappropriate medication puts you at risk for dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences.
* Getting a prescription drug by filling out a questionnaire without seeing a doctor poses serious health risks. A questionnaire does not provide sufficient information for a health-care professional to determine if that drug is for you or safe to use, if another treatment is more appropriate, or if you have an underlying medical condition where using that drug may be harmful. The American Medical Association has determined that this practice is generally substandard medical care. FDA agrees.

FDA Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Drugs Purchased in Mexico

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning the public about the sale of counterfeit versions of Lipitor, Viagra, and an unapproved product promoted as “generic Evista” to U.S. consumers at pharmacies in Mexican border towns.

Consumers who have any of these counterfeit products should not use them and should contact their healthcare provider immediately. FDA is warning consumers that prescription drugs purchased in foreign countries are not regulated by the FDA and do not carry the same FDA assurances of safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality as drugs purchased within the United States.

Counterfeit versions of Lipitor (a cholesterol-lowering drug), Viagra (a treatment for erectile dysfunction), and Evista (a treatment and prevention medication for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women) can pose significant risks to consumers. Counterfeit Lipitor that contains no active ingredient or not enough active ingredient could present a long-term risk for the various complications of high cholesterol, such as heart disease. The counterfeit product purchased in Mexico was associated with several reports of high cholesterol in consumers who had used the product. Counterfeit Viagra that contains little or no active ingredient would be less effective than a legitimate product or altogether ineffective. Women who take the substandard generic Evista product that contains no active ingredient may be at risk for developing osteoporosis or for having their osteoporosis progress.

The “generic Evista” was analyzed by FDA in coordination with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and was found to contain no active ingredient. The counterfeit Lipitor and counterfeit Viagra were analyzed by Pfizer, Inc. and were also found to contain no active ingredient.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America’s pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that’s right for them. Many will get them free or nearly free.

To access the Partnership for Prescription Assistance by phone, you can call toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).

Many people have difficulty affording health care, including prescription medicines. A number of patient assistance programs provide help to patients who lack prescription drug coverage and earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level (approximately $19,000 for an individual or $31,000 for a family of three).

Patients will be directed to the public or private programs most likely to meet their needs. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance helps qualifying patients without prescription coverage:

Enroll in more than 275 patient assistance programs

Access more than 1,200 medicines

Learn how to contact government programs for which they may qualify, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

ConnPACE: Connecticut Prescription Drug Assistance Program

ConnPACE is an outstanding service that helps eligible senior citizens and people with disabilities afford the cost of most prescription medicines. This website will show you the benefits of the program and give you information you need to apply.

If you are a Connecticut resident aged 65 or older, or with a disability aged 18 or older, you may qualify for ConnPACE. Please check our new, higher income eligibility levels, which are helping many more people join ConnPACE.

Besides covering most prescriptions, ConnPACE pays for insulin and insulin syringes and needles.

To get all the information you need about applying for ConnPACE, please see our brochure and application.

Contact ConnPACE at:

1-800-423-5026, toll-free in Connecticut; or
1-860-832-9265, in the Hartford area or from out of state.