36 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • DECEMBER 14, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Control your diabetes while controlling costs
Controlling the “ABCs of diabetes,”
namely A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol
levels, is diffi cult enough, but when
you add that second C - costly medications
- it’s easy to see how one’s levels can
spiral out of control very quickly.
According to the American Diabetes
Association, for the 30 million people living
with diabetes in the U.S., health care
costs are more than double (2.3 times) the
costs compared to those without diabetes.
Th is is due to the ever-increasing costs of
the medications to treat diabetes and the
chronic conditions that oft en accompany
the disease, namely high blood pressure
and high cholesterol. In fact, between
2002 and 2013, the cost of insulin has tripled,
and newer cholesterol- and blood
pressure-lowering medications are also
on the rise.
Now consider that in the U.S., more
than 2 million children and adults living
with diabetes do not have access to
health insurance, and millions more are
in high-deductible plans that can require
high out-of-pocket costs. Th is has a compounding
eff ect on our healthcare system
and society because the lack of access to
diabetes medications can lead to avoidable
doctor visits, hospitalizations, amputations
and even death.
So, what is the cash-paying person
struggling to aff ord these high-cost insulins
and other diabetes medications to
do? Th e good news is there are numerous
ways to save money on diabetes care
without compromising on quality.
First, shop around. Medication prices
can vary greatly by pharmacy. If you are
not using insurance to cover the cost of
prescription drugs, there are many ways
to obtain prescription assistance. See if
you could begin saving money immediately
with Inside Rx, a free discount drug
card program, which provides deep discounts
on certain brand-name diabetes
medications, including insulin and drugs
that treat co-existing conditions such as
high cholesterol and blood pressure. In
fact, people who have used the Inside
Rx card have saved an average $180 on
featured brand insulin medications. See
insiderx.com for a listing of these featured
medications, as well as important terms
and restrictions.
In addition, Rx Assistance provides a
comprehensive database of pharmaceutical
assistance programs. Most pharmaceutical
companies also off er fi nancial
assistance programs to persons who have
trouble aff ording their medications and
supplies.
By doing some research into these types
of discount programs and databases, it
may be possible to save thousands of dollars
a year, while controlling your diabetes
and enhancing your quality of life.
Courtesy BPT
Free card can help make prescriptions more aff ordable
BY SUZANNE
MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @
smont76
Peter Ciccone, who has been
the manager of the New York
market for the NY Rx Card
for about six years, said it’s no
secret that Americans are now
more concerned about their
healthcare than ever.
“You may fi nd that there’s a
lapse in your program no matter
what insurance you have,”
Ciccone said. “Everyone’s
gone to the pharmacy, had
it fi lled, and discovered their
insurance does not cover it.”
Th e free NY Rx Card, the
marketing manager said, can
help ease the strain.
“We help people make
their prescriptions more
affordable,” Ciccone said.
“Nationwide, we do about 30
to 40 million scripts a year.
Th at’s a heck of a volume.”
Th e program kicked off
in June 2012 and is funded
through a private equity
consisting of pharmaceutical
companies and retailers,
such as CVS and Walgreens.
Th e coupon card will provide
users with Rx medication savings
of up to 75 percent at
more than 68,000 pharmacies
across the country.
Th e coupon card is pre-activated,
enabling users to use
it immediately. Th ere are no
membership restrictions,
income requirements or age
limitations and the card may
be used by those who do not
have prescription drug insurance.
And, to ensure customer
privacy, all prescriptions
processed through the program
are confi dential.
With the card, New Yorkers
have saved a quarter of a billion
dollars since 2012.
“Some of our biggest customers
are in Queens: whether
Jackson Heights, College
Point, Astoria, Auburndale —
you name it,” the representative
said.
“Th e program is designed
to help New Yorkers, and we
know it works and its safe,”
he added. “It’s one of the few
times where something that is
free is really free to the user.”
To download the card or
learn more about it, visit the
New York Rx Card website,
www.newyorkrxcard.com. Photo via Flickr/charlesonfl ickr
