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Help Your Patients by Registering for Health Safety Net Legislative Day!
The 2018 General Assembly is in session, and Virginia legislators are considering several bills which would expand Medicaid eligibility to Virginians at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (
FPL
) (
$16,642 for one, $33,948 for a family of 4
). Medicaid expansion would help many of your patients and nearly 400,000 eligible adult Virginians by providing health insurance that covers hospitalizations, doctor visits and all of their needed medicines.
Please plan to join us in Richmond for Health Safety Net Legislative Day on Wednesday, February 14, 2018. We'll tell the legislators that Virginia is for Lovers and Medicaid Expansion! Register now!
For more information on Medicaid expansion click here.
Patient Stories Needed
To help legislators understand who the Virginians eligible for insurance under Medicaid expansion are and why health insurance is so import to them, we need your help. Please identify 2 uninsured patients with incomes at or below 138% FPL who have compelling situations,
(e.g. the cost of medicines they need would be a significant percent of their income and unaffordable without the help of your medication assistance program)
and tell us about them. Ask for their permission to share their stories. Please use this
form
to provide details. Please send the forms to Michelle Barnett by email to:
michelle@vhcf.org
as soon as possible so we can help educate legislators.
Update: 2018 Virginia Medicaid Denial Waiver Letter
Some Patient Assistance Programs
(PAPs)
require patients to apply to Medicaid as part of their screening for eligibility process and provide documentation that those benefits have been denied. Because Virginia's Medicaid eligibility is among the most restrictive in the nation, a waiver letter for 2018 is in the process of being updated. Please continue to use the 2017 version
in place of a Medicaid Denial letter to submit to PAPs requesting this documentation. We will let you know when the 2018 version becomes available. If you have any problems with certain PAPs rejecting this letter for any reason, please notify
TPC
staff.
TPC
Annual Survey
It's that time again! Each year, VHCF
conducts an annual survey of those who use TPC and we use the responses to help plan and consider future software enhancements. We are always looking for ways we can provide you with additional information to better help your patients with access to the medications and supplies they need. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! Please stay tuned to your email as the survey will be coming soon!
Free Medical ID Alert Bracelet Program
MedicAlert Foundation offers a program that provides one free medical ID per eligible patient. Patients are required to provide proof of hardship in the form of a letter or statement from the individual requesting sponsorship or a copy of a state or federal government public assistance program. In
TPC, s
earch for Medical ID Bracelet under the Patient Supply formulary on the Medication screen to complete an application. Select bands/bracelet/pendant options including a variety of sizes and colors are available on the application.
Highlights of Important PAP Updates & Resources
GSK's Patient Assistance Program removed Lovaza
(a lipid-regulating agent)
from its program December 31, 2017. Omega-3-Acid Ethyl Esters Capsules is a generic alternative available through programs such as Rx Outreach and Blink Health. Less expensive over-the-counter (OTC)
fish oil may also be an alternative option for some patients.
UCB Patient Assistance Program is no longer accepting new applicants to the program as of January 1, 2018 for Keppra and Keppra XR
(used to treat seizures).
Currently enrolled patients are not affected and will continue to receive these medications as long as they remain eligible and have a valid prescription. The application has been updated in
TPC
and online enrollment to the program is also available here.
Daiichi Sankyo's Open Care Program
will be discontinuing the following products from its program effective
March 31, 2018
:
Azor
,
Benicar, Benicar HCT
and
Tribenzor
which are all used to lower high blood pressure. Daiichi Sankyo is in the process of sending letters to providers about this change.
TPC staff is working with a pharmacist to bring you a comprehensive list of possible free brandname and/or generic low cost alternatives to share with providers and will distribute the list as soon as it becomes available. Welchol and
Savaysa
will remain available on the program.
Check out other recent Program Changes in the Research section of TPC for more information on recent changes and updates to the system.
Available Medicines at Your Fingertips! - TPC Mobile App
Remember to check out
TPC's mobile medication web app
f
or more information on the availability of free and low cost alternative options when medications like those mentioned earlier become unavailable. You can search by brandname, generic name, class and subclass and see if a medication is available for free or low cost.
Health care
providers, Medication Assistance Caseworkers (MACs), volunteers and clinic staff can benefit by using this tool as its available right at your fingertips.
RxPartnership's
Access to Medication Program: Generic Central-Fill Pharmacy
Access to Medication Program
(AMP)
is a new program designed to provide a low-cost option for accessing high-demand generics to clinics without pharmacies.
AMP
offers a reliable formulary consisting of 20 generic medications with 32 different dosage strengths to treat a variety of chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, acid reflux, etc.
AMP
Facts:
-
Clinics participating in
AMP
have seen a 65% decrease in the cost of a 90-day supply of medication
- AMP saves between $8.75 to $105 per prescription
- Quick turnaround of only 1 week to receive medications
- Since AMP launched in April 2017, over 1,100 unduplicated patients have received more than 4,700 90-day prescriptions
For more information, contact Hope Kestle at hkestle@rxpartnership.org or 804-297-3174. Check out the flyer!
Publix Pharmacy Now Offers Select 90-day Supply of Medications for $7.50
For just $2.50/month, you can now obtain 90-day select prescription drugs through the Publix Pharmacy Medications Program. The formulary covers heart health, diabetes, cholesterol, mental health, seizure disorders, asthma & allergies and more. For a complete list of medications available, click
here. Select
maintenance medications can also be obtained for FREE! For a Publix Pharmacy location near you, click
here
.
Q: How do I know when to update and change my password for
TPC?
Q: Is there a report available that provides details about who received medication and the quantity?
Check out the
answers. More FAQs and Training Videos are located under the
TPC Help menu!
Upcoming TPC Trainings
Sign up for a
TPC
training session if you are new to your organization and need to learn the basics, if you currently use
TPC
and are looking to refresh your skills or want check out additional advanced features.
Beginner
Advanced
Please check out the rest of the schedule and register for a session
here
!
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