Thanks to an innovative agreement between the Biden administration and drug manufacturer Pfizer, Americans can still access medicines for free or at very low cost through a program called Paxcess. The problem is that too few people, including pharmacists, are aware of this.
I learned about Paxcess after readers wrote about pharmacies charging hundreds of dollars, or even full list price, to fill Paxlovid prescriptions. This shouldn’t happen. A representative from Pfizer, which runs the program, explained to me that patients on Medicare, Medicaid, or those who are uninsured should receive free paxlobid. You must sign up by visiting paxlovid.iassist.com or calling 877-219-7225. “We wanted to make registration as easy and quick as possible,” a representative said.
Indeed, the process is simple. I clicked on the web form myself and it only requires 3 sets of information. Patients first enter their name, date of birth, and address. Next, enter your prescriber’s name and address and select your insurance type.
All of this takes less than 5 minutes and can be done at home or at the pharmacy. A doctor or pharmacist can also fill it out for you. Importantly, this form does not ask for medical history, proof of a positive coronavirus test, proof of income, citizenship status, or any other potentially sensitive or time-consuming information.
However, there is one important requirement to note. To begin the registration process, patients must have a prescription for Paxrovid. Pre-registration is not possible. (However, in a sense, those with Medicare or Medicaid are already pre-enrolled.)
Once the survey is completed, the website will generate a voucher within seconds. Users can print it themselves or email it and redeem it for a free course of Pax Lovid at most pharmacies.
More than 57,000 pharmacies have signed up to participate in the program, including all major drugstore chains such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, a Pfizer representative said. Mail order is also available for those who cannot visit the store in person.
For commercially insured patients, this program works a little differently. Some insurance plans already cover Paxrobid at no out-of-pocket cost. Those who are told there will be a fee must register with Paxcess. This will further reduce your out-of-pocket costs and may even cover the entire cost.
Several readers attest that the Paxcess process was fast and seamless. I was also happy that there was basically no limit to the number of times I could use it. A person who has contracted coronavirus three times in one year can access her Paxlovid for free or at low cost each time.
Unfortunately, a reader reported to me one major problem. Paxcess vouchers are honored when presented, but some pharmacies do not actively offer this program. As a result, many patients still face high out-of-pocket costs, even if they can obtain the drug for free.
This is extremely frustrating. But after interviewing multiple parties involved in this process, including representatives from major pharmacy chains and Biden administration officials, I believe everyone is genuinely trying to make things right. As we saw in the early days of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, getting new programs off the ground is difficult. Policies that look good on paper run into multiple barriers during implementation.
Stakeholders are proactively identifying and addressing these issues. For example, a Walgreens representative explained to me that they learned they not only needed to educate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians about the program, but also made changes to their systems to accommodate different workflows. He gave it to me. Typically, when a pharmacist processes a prescription, they notify the patient of the out-of-pocket cost and dispense the medication. But Paxlovid requires the system to stop a patient if there is a copay, so you can encourage the patient to enroll her in Paxcess.
Patients and consumers must play an active role here. You may feel that it is not fair. After all, if someone gets sick, people expect the system to work and help them. But that’s not our reality. While pharmacies work to fix the system’s flaws, patients need to be their own best advocates. That means signing up for her Paxcess as soon as you receive your Paxlovid prescription and helping spread the word so others can get the antiviral drug at little or no cost. To do.