TogetherRx Access, a drug discount card program sponsored by drug companies, is being discontinued as of Feb. 28, 2014. The reason? Big Pharma says participants will get a better deal on prescriptions by getting insured through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid.
“We have determined that individuals and families who need help obtaining their prescription medicines may be better served by the health coverage options available through the Health Insurance Marketplace, [or] expanded Medicaid programs in select states …” said the program’s website.
TogetherRx Access is supported by Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, AbbVie, Janssen, and four other drug companies. AbbVie and Janssen, by the way, are members of the anti-340B group AIR340B.
TogetherRx Access is the first patient assistance program to close citing the new healthcare landscape as the reason. It is also likely to be a bellwether, as pharmaceutical companies look for ways to push low-income patients into the insurance marketplace and therefore make much higher profits on medicines sold to them.
For the time being, TogetherRx Access card holders will be able to join other patient access programs to obtain discount medicines.
And what is this giant elephant in the room? That’s the estimated 30 million Americans who will likely remain uninsured even as the Affordable Care Act takes effect. For them, the 340B program is a vital avenue to cheaper medicines and better care.