History
Over the years medications have become more advanced, BUT so have prices. Brand name medications are amongst the top reasons for medication non-adherence, financial burden to patients, and health inequity. Many of these brand name medications seem to only be available to patients who can afford them, excluding those who are uninsured, low income, financially-constrained, or even those who have worked their entire lives to be on Medicare, just to find out their medication is not covered, or the deductible is too high for them to even consider buying medications that may add years to their life.
Why we care
I am a practicing clinical pharmacist that is passionate about patients being able to take
the best therapies that will improve their quality of life and reduce mortality. My family
is similar to many families across the United States. Both my parents are baby boomers who
are now approaching Medicare age. My dad worked for the same company for 41 years, 3am to
4pm, before retiring. He has now been retired for three short years and is pouring his
hard-earned money into his prescription medications. He has been blessed enough to have
received samples of some of his medications to help keep him out of the hospital and at
home, enjoying his retirement. Now that he is at Medicare enrollment age, he is sifting
through multiple companies to see how to best afford his brand name insulin and other
brand name medications. I therefore set out on a quest to evaluate how he could best be
served, along with the rest of the nation. This led to the creation of M.A.G.I.C., The
Medication Assistance Guide for Improving Care.
-Kyle Ames, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Creator of MAGIC MEDS RX
What is a patient assistance program (PAP)
A patient assistance program (PAP) is when a drug manufacturer offers their brand's medication for FREE to eliminate financial barriers for qualifying patients. These programs actually send the medication directly to a patient's home for a year. For Medicare patients with fixed incomes, you may qualify for the rest of your life! Are there a lot of these programs? Yes! Why do drug companies offer these programs? I believe there are tax incentives for these multi-billion dollar companies to offer these programs. There are 27+ drug companies that offer PAPs.
Why have you never heard of a PAP
PAP programs are grossly underutilized. Picture these large companies offering these programs but patients not knowing they exist due to pertinent details being deeply embedded in their websites! What if I told you the majority of even healthcare professionals are unaware of the extent of available programs? Imagine you're listening to a long advertisement that ends in "Call for Eligibility Details"; that is the current state of PAP programs being difficult to access.
What is M.A.G.I.C.
Medication Assistance Guide for Improving Care (M.A.G.I.C.), is a comprehensive, fully-interactive collection of available patient assistance programs (PAP) for brand name drugs in the United States. It is designed with the patient in mind, attempting to make eligibility criteria as clear as possible. Our mission is to save patients from having to use alternative medications, save patients money, and eliminate inequity that exists in patient care due to cost of brand name prescription medications. M.A.G.I.C. is designed that ANYONE should be able to use the system and least know whether or not they qualify for a PAP program.