Patient Access Network Foundation uses the following criteria to
determine eligibility for assistance:
1. You have to be insured and your insurance has to cover the
medication for which you are seeking assistance.
2. The medication you take must fight the disease directly.
3. You have to be a US resident.
4. Your income must fall below 400% of the Federal Poverty
Level.
Click
here
for the Federal Poverty Guidelines
applications for new and renewal patients are accepted and
grants are immediately allocated.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome is a group of diseases of abnormal bone
marrow function. In patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, blood
cells fail to mature and remain in various immature blast cell
states. Since the cells do not mature, they also do not leave the
bone marrow. This results in the bone marrow filling with blasts
until there is no more room for normal cells to develop. Also, many
of the cells that do mature do not function correctly.
Treatment of MDS is individualized and depends on the severity of
low blood counts and the risk of progression to leukemia. Various
treatment options can include: supportive care, bone marrow
transplants, and administration of various drug products such as
chemotherapy agents and differentiating agents. The chemotherapy
agents discourage bone marrow cell growth while the differentiating
agents encourage bone marrow cell growth and maturation.
Private insurance and Medicare are the most common types of
health coverage for patients with MDS. Both have co-payments that
can present difficulties for patients. For example, Medicare does
not have a cap on coinsurance in certain health care settings. Also,
private insurance coverage can vary. As a result, low-to-moderate
income beneficiaries are often unable to afford the out-of-pocket
costs associated with their prescriptions. The Patient Access
Network may be able to provide assistance with these patient
cost-sharing requirements.
