MAT Provides Patients with More Transparency Around Medicine Costs

By: Emma Berry, Advocacy & Strategic Alliances, PhRMA

*** Reprinted with permission from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America® ***

Patients have enough to worry about right now. Figuring out how to pay for prescriptions shouldn’t be another stressor. For decades, PhRMA has been committed to advocating for policies that help patients access the medicines they need, and now America’s biopharmaceutical companies are also individually expanding their assistance programs to help more patients during these uncertain times. The Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) can match patients with resources and cost-sharing programs that may help lower out-of-pocket costs, whether or not you have insurance.

MAT is a free-to-use search engine designed to help patients, caregivers and health care providers learn more about the resources available through the various biopharmaceutical industry programs. While MAT is not its own patient assistance program, it does contain information on many of the patient assistance resources that the biopharmaceutical industry offers, including 900+ programs offered by PhRMA’s members companies to help qualifying patients, such as those who need financial support due to their lack of insurance or inadequate prescription medicine coverage.

Photo Source: PhRMA

Here is how you can use MAT to learn more about resources and cost-sharing assistance programs:

• Go to MAT.org and select whether you are a patient, loved one or health care professional
• Enter the name of the medicines you, your loved one or your patient are prescribed
• Enter your personal information or that of your loved one or patient (i.e. age, location, income, insurance coverage and household size)*

After following these steps, MAT will produce search results that identify programs and resources that might be able to help you.

Additionally, the MAT site also includes links to the websites referenced in company television advertising, where information about the costs of the prescription medicines is available. These websites may include information such as the list price of the medicine, out-of-pocket costs and other context about the potential costs of the medicine. The information provided by MAT can help people learn more about the costs surrounding their medicines, as well as provide resources to help them better navigate their insurance coverage. 

*Disclaimer: Please note any information provided is not saved and is kept strictly confidential and will not be used to for any purpose other than providing the search results.

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates.