Financial assistance resources for managing PKD

Athena Diagnostics is committed to making diagnostic testing more accessible and more affordable for all patients. Athena Diagnostics recognizes the unique challenges of patients facing various diseases and conditions and is dedicated to personalizing and simplifying customer service, including a new tiered financial assistance program. On September 1, 2014, Athena launched the Athena Alliance Program that was created to expand patient access to a variety of diagnostic methodologies and testing. The Athena Alliance Program provides tailored financial solutions based on federally published income guidelines to any insured or uninsured patient who qualifies financially and has a balance that exceeds $100.

Tolvaptan is the only FDA approved treatment for ADPKD. Every insurance company will negotiate to determine coverage for tolvaptan as a treatment for PKD and each individual plan available will be different. To find out if your insurance will cover tolvaptan, please reach out to your insurance company. Otsuka offers a number of support programs for eligible patients, including one that ensures that eligible commercially insured patients do not pay more than $10 for a prescription for tolvaptan. Further information is available here. The Otsuka Patient Assistance Foundation (OPAF), provides support for eligible patients who are unable to afford their medication.

Some states offer a state pharmaceutical assistance program (SPAP) to help their residents pay for prescriptions drugs, particularly if you have End Stage Renal Disease. The states that offer SPAPs often coordinate their SPAPs with Medicare’s drug benefit (Part D). Check with your state’s program to see how it works with Part D. If a drug is covered by both your SPAP and your Part D plan, what you pay plus what the SPAP pays for the drug will count towards the out-of-pocket maximum you have to reach before your Medicare drug costs go down.

The APhA Foundation created an Align My Refills tool to create a new medication use system where patients, pharmacists, physicians and other health care professionals collaborate to dramatically improve the cost effectiveness and quality of patient health outcomes. The idea is to reduce your trips to the pharmacy and improve your ability to take medications as prescribed through medication synchronization (med sync) programs now being offered by some pharmacies. Med sync allows you to pick up of all of your ongoing prescription refills at the pharmacy on a single, convenient day each month and work closely with your pharmacist on sticking to your medication regimen.

This nonprofit provides information on health care programs while also helping patients afford medications and other health care costs.

HealthWell’s Pediatric Assistance Fund helps children access the medical treatments they need, regardless of disease type or condition. Through the fund, HealthWell is able to assist families in meeting their cost-sharing obligations to help their child start or continue medical treatments they otherwise would not be able to afford.

For many people with kidney failure, the Federal Government—through Medicare External link — helps pay for much of the cost of their treatment. The U.S. Congress passed the Social Security Amendments of 1972 that guarantee Medicare coverage for most people with kidney failure — even those under age 65. NIDDK offers further information on this and other government resources.

Health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. Health centers also often integrate access to pharmacy, mental health, substance use disorder, and oral health services in areas where economic, geographic, or cultural barriers limit access to affordable health care services. Health centers deliver care to the Nation’s most vulnerable individuals and families, including people experiencing homelessness, agricultural workers, residents of public housing, and the Nation’s veterans.

Keeping up with routine post-transplant testing can be time consuming. This service, offered by CareDx, offers an in-home blood draw service so that individuals can keep their regular testing schedule without in-person visits to a hospital or lab. RemoTraC covers the cost of the mobile phlebotomist, so there’s no additional cost beyond the regular co-pay.

This program helps provide emotional and financial support to patients and their families. For living donors, the program covers essential living expenses due to lost wages during recovery after surgery so they can heal without facing financial troubles. For transplant recipients, they help patients to keep the organ that keeps them alive by providing assistance to cover delinquent insurance premiums to prevent loss of insurance coverage, medication co-payments during insurance gap periods, and/or changes to insurance provider.

A nonprofit providing free air transportation operated by volunteer pilots to specialized health care facilities and serves all 50 states.

This nonprofit organization provides free flights daily for medical services. It arranges free air transportation for people who need to travel to receive life saving medical treatment, but can't afford it.

This organization of volunteer pilots provides free flights for lifesaving treatments to passengers in financial need.

The ESRD National Coordinating Center Patient Grant Library provides information on funding to support ideas for education, advocacy and / or helping others living with kidney disease. Grants can pay for unique or creative projects or for basic needs — even scholarships.

This nonprofit helps underinsured people with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases get the prescribed medications and treatments they need by assisting with their out-of-pocket costs and advocating for improved access and affordability.

This organization offers need-based programs to help kidney patients afford medical expenses such as health insurance premiums, transportation costs, prescription medications and other necessities related to health care.