Paying for Hormonal Therapy

Hormonal therapy is usually prescribed for five years. And some women may be advised to take hormonal therapy for up to 10 years. You may wonder how much these treatments cost and how you will pay for them over this long period of time.

If you have insurance, your cost for some or all of these medications may only be a co-pay. But if you have no insurance or you need help paying for your medicine, there may be ways to get some assistance.

Original brand-name medications are manufactured only by the company that invented them, are protected by patents, and are relatively expensive. After medicines have been around for a long time, their patents expire, and other companies can make "generic" or non-branded copies of the original drug. Generics are considerably less expensive than brand-name drugs.

Financial help with brand-name medicines

Most hormonal therapy medications are only available under their brand names.

Here are some ways to get help covering the cost:

• a prescription plan that covers most or all of the cost
• medicare with a senior-citizen discount prescription card
• a prescription plan that accepts your drug as eligible under the Medicare Replacement Drug Demonstration
• participation in a clinical trial
• special funds from your community or hospital
• patient assistance from the pharmaceutical company that makes the drug

To find out more about these options, ask around. Ask your doctors if there's a clinical trial available for your situation. Talk to social workers in the hospital, community, or place of worship. They may be familiar with special programs or funding sources to cover some or much of the cost of the medicines. Your doctor or social worker can help you find and fill out an application for possible coverage by the pharmaceutical company.

There are also ways to get discounts on medications. Large stores such as Costco or Wal-Mart tend to buy medicines, like everything else, in bulk. See if they have discounted prices for your prescription. You may also be able to receive a discount at a drugstore if you are a senior citizen. Call or meet with your local pharmacist for practical tips on covering the costs.

Certain groups also offer discounts. If you are over 50, try the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Members can call 800-456-2277 to contact their pharmacy services.

Some people turn to the Internet to fill their prescriptions—but be careful about online sources of medications. It has been found that some online pharmacies:

• May not require a doctor's prescription to sell you a product
• Sell fake, unapproved, outdated, or sub-standard products
• Have little or no quality control (packaging, purity of ingredients, storage)
• May send you an inappropriate medicine (e.g., inappropriate for your condition, or known to have interactions with other drugs)

Be sure you ask your doctor or nurse for a recommendation before you order from any online pharmacy.

Financial help with generic medicines

Here are some ways to get help covering the cost:

• A prescription plan that covers most or all of the cost
• Medicare with a senior-citizen discount prescription card
• A prescription plan that accepts your drug as eligible under the Medicare Replacement Drug Demonstration
• Participation in a clinical trial
• Special funds in your community or hospital
• Patient assistance from the pharmaceutical company that makes the drug

To find out more about these options, ask around. Insurance companies are more likely to cover a generic than a brand named drug. Co-pays might be less with generics. Ask your doctors if there's a clinical trial available for your situation—however, relatively few trials include generic medications. Talk to a social worker in the hospital, community, place of worship. She may be familiar with special programs or funding sources to cover some or much of the cost of the medicines. Your doctor or social worker can help you find and fill out an application for possible pharmaceutical company coverage.

There are also ways to get discounts on medications. Large stores like Costco or Wal-mart tend to buy medicines, like everything else, in bulk. See if they have discounted prices for your prescription. You may also be able to receive a discount at a drugstore if you are a senior citizen. Call or meet with your local pharmacist for practical tips on covering the costs.

Certain groups also offer discounts. If you are over 50, try the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Members can call 800-456-2277 to contact their pharmacy services. Some people turn to the Internet to fill their prescriptions — but be careful about online sources of medications.

Talk to your doctor or nurse about the best way to get help paying for your medications, if you need it. They can help you to contact the manufacturer to see if you qualify for patient assistance.

Help from pharmaceutical companies

For assistance with health care coverage questions, AstraZeneca (the maker of Arimidex, Nolvadex, Faslodex, and Zoladex) has a hotline number called the Cancer Support Network. It is a toll-free number, 1-866-99AZ-CSN (1-866-992-9276). You, your nurse, or your doctor can also call this number to discuss health care coverage issues.

Aromasin, manufactured by Pfizer, may be available at a discounted rate if you need financial aid. The Pfizer Helpful Answers™ program is the first comprehensive savings program for people without prescription drug coverage. Call the assistance hotline, 1-866-776-3700, for more information.

Femara, manufactured by Novartis, is covered under the Medicare Replacement Drug Demonstration, which makes certain medications available to patients with only a co-pay, if you have a prescription plan. You must fill out an application and enroll in the program in order to be eligible. If you do not have a prescription plan, you may qualify to join the Novartis Patient Assistance Program. Call the assistance hotline, 1-800-277-2254, for more information.