Pfizer doubles income eligibility limit for prescription assistance

U.S.-based drugmaker Pfizer said this week it is tackling the rising costs of prescription medicines head on by expanding its patient assistance program so that more people can gain access to free medicines.

Under the Pfizer RxPathways program, more than 40 medicines will now be available at no cost for both insured and uninsured individuals making up to four times the federal poverty level. The allowable income levels have been doubled with the new limits being $47,080 for a single person and $97,000 for a family of four.

While the RxPathways program provides free medicines to those that qualify, it also offers other assistance services such as medicine access counseling and insurance counseling. Additionally, the program can give uninsured patients, regardless of their income, up to 50 percent off the retail price on Pfizer medicines.

“We have listened to patients and acted quickly to significantly expand the eligibility of our patient assistance programs," Sally Susman, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Pfizer. "While patient assistance is not a permanent solution, it is a necessary step for helping to solve some of the high co-pay issues that some patients face. The real solution is to have a system that provides patients with access to innovative new treatments their doctors’ prescribe and insurance plans with good coverage.”

Pfizer has been helping individuals with and without health insurance obtain access to its medicines for more than two decades with approximately 2.5 million getting their hands on more than 30 million Pfizer prescriptions over the past five years.