Medicare drug plan forces assistance programs to drop coverage...[more]: "hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled Americans who are eligible for Part D are being cut off from the 475 patient-assistance programs currently operated by pharmaceutical manufacturers, foundations and governmental agencies. It's an unintended side effect of the Medicare expansion.
Many drug companies are worried they will violate federal anti-kickback laws and be sued if they continue to offer patient assistance.
The Betaseron Foundation, a not-for-profit group established in 1994 by New Jersey-based Berlex Laboratories, the distributors of Betaseron, decided that Part D would be a better deal for most of its Medicare-eligible clients, according to a foundation board member.
'After thorough discussion ... we felt it was a best policy position to have people sign up for Part D, because then they're going to get all their medications covered, not just Betaseron,' said Dr. Michael Earnest, a retired neurologist from Denver who sits on the foundation's board....."