Please Note: The information in this section refers to copayment foundations with regard to underinsured patients. For information regarding uninsured patients, please see SAFETY NET® information listed under each product.

What are patient-assistance programs?

Patient-assistance programs are independent third-party non-profit organizations that provide financial assistance to help reduce the financial burden for uninsured or low-income patients. These organizations are supported through state and federal funds as well as by corporate and nonprofit organizations. For qualified patients, support is typically provided in the form of copayment assistance or premium assistance for the underinsured, free product for underinsured patients, or product replacement for providers treating qualified patients with provider-purchased drugs like ESPs. Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® maintains a database of patient-assistance programs for which it can conduct initial assessments of eligibility and forward applications when made available by the foundations.

Each foundation will assess a patient's eligibility to receive assistance based upon certain objective financial eligibility criteria and type of illness. Some programs will provide assistance to patients with incomes as high as 4 times the federal poverty level (Table 1). For a married patient with 2 children, this means an annual household income of $82,600 per year for 2007.

Table 1: Federal Register, Vol 27, No. 15, January 24, 2007, pp. 3147-3148.

Each respective program pursuant to its own independent criteria determines patient eligibility. When Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® conducts an insurance verification and a need for alternative funding is identified, Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® can provide information on applicable patient-assistance foundations for which the patient may be eligible.

Providers interested in determining patient eligibility for patient-assistance programs should call Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® at 1-800-272-9376. Once an appropriate program is identified, a signed application will need to be submitted.

When applying for support through a patient-assistance foundation, information that is typically required on the application includes:

Provider		Patient
Provider name DEA number Name of contact person Address of contact person Telephone/fax numbers of contact person Patient diagnosis Patient's current medications and dosage		Written patient's authorization Patient name Address and telephone number Social Security number Duration of therapy Patient's annual family income Number of dependents Insurance information for all insurance plans in which the patient participates, including name of insurer, pending insurance coverage, copayment amounts, and premiums Pharmacy location and contact information

Possibly. Upon verifying insurance benefits for your patient and prequalifying eligibility for a patient-assistance program, Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® can send you and/or your patient a prefilled application to submit to the program if the foundation has provided Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® with the application material.

Most of the patient-assistance foundations enroll patients within 7 to 10 business days once a completed application is received by the foundation. However, the foundation you decide to use can provide specific details concerning the turnaround time on their applications.

There are not-for-profit patient-assistance foundations that may assist with your patient's financial responsibility after their insurance reimburses them. With the patient's indication, income, and type of insurance, Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® can quickly assess which foundation(s) may be of further assistance.

Amgen's Reimbursement Connection^® does not recommend one patient-assistance foundation over another. Based on your patient's specific needs, it can provide you with the name and phone number of the patient-assistance foundation(s) that provide(s) assistance for your patient's indication.

Foundations may differ in the way they provide their funding. This question would best be answered by the patient-assistance foundation you decide to use.

Most of the patient-assistance foundations enroll patients for a period of 1 year. Eligibility can continue longer if patient provides evidence of need. However, the foundation you decide to use can provide specific details concerning the enrollment period(s).