Improving Patient Access to Critical Therapies in the Age of Cost Sharing

This case study from the American Cancer Society (ACS) describes the ACS’s Health Insurance Assistance Service and offers profiles of 2 cases, which describe the challenges of finding adequate and affordable solutions, as well as sharing lessons learned.

This case study from the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable and Project Inform describes the cost-sharing mechanisms that create significant barriers to accessing new hepatitis C treatments, which require a strong advocate response to improve patient access.

This case study from the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA) focuses on a new dispensary in a moderately sized oncology community practice that prescribes to NCODA’s Quality Standards and outlines the processes developed to assist Medicare patients in accessing their oral cancer medications.

This case study from the National Psoriasis Foundation describes its aim to eliminate access barriers-including cost-through legislative and regulatory advocacy, direct patient assistance programs, and engagement with health insurers.

This case study from the MS Center of Saint Louis examines how patients are impacted by high healthcare costs and addresses potential solutions to this problem.

Patients can be shielded from the most onerous cost-sharing burdens for specialty drugs while keeping premiums affordable for the entire enrolled population.

This supplement showcases the winning papers and case studies from the PAN Challenge, which aimed to stimulate a dialogue about how to ease the financial burden and improve the quality of life for millions of patients and their families.

A Medicare claims analysis of patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia revealed that high cost sharing was associated with reduced and/or delayed tyrosine kinase inhibitor initiation under Part D.