On Monday, the drug maker Cephalon announced that its best-selling drug, modafinil (branded as Provigil), is now available at pharmacies nationwide in a much-hyped longer-lasting formulation, branded as Nuvigil. Modafinil is prescribed to improve “wakefulness” for those who suffer obstructive sleep apnea, shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), and narcolepsy.

To encourage patients to transition from Provigil to the “new and improved” Nuvigil, Cephalon is offering a financial incentive in the form of help with prescription drug co-payments. To assist insured patients with co-pay costs, Cephalon is offering the Nuvigil Prescription Savings Program. Through this program, eligible patients will receive a co-pay savings at the pharmacy to reduce their out-of-pocket costs to fill the prescription. For many patients, with an average co-pay of about $40, this will lower monthly co-pays to $10.

But that’s not all. Even for those without prescription drug insurance, Nuvigil is now cheaper than Provigil. As the Wall Street Journal reports:

The company has set the stage for the switch campaign by raising prices for Provigil — to the dismay of some patients. The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Cephalon boosted the price sharply twice last year, and it was 74% more expensive than four years earlier. The drug now sells at an average price of $10.08 per pill.

To encourage people to switch to Nuvigil, Cephalon is selling it at an 11% discount to Provigil, or an average of $8.98 per pill, said Mike Derkacz, vice president of the central-nervous system therapeutic business at Cephalon.

So, with these financial incentives, is making the switch from Provigil to Nuvigil a good idea for you?

This is a decision that should be made by you and your doctor together. For some patients on modafinil, a longer-lasting version could make a big difference. For others, it won’t be very important.

But you should not make your decision based on the financial incentives alone, because they are short-term promotions. In 2012, when Provigil begins facing generic competition in the United States, it will become much cheaper than Nuvigil. Nuvigil won’t face generic competion until 2023, so you can expect its $8.98 per pill price to increase over time.

Pfizer announced today that it will provide approximately 70 of its most widely used prescription drugs, including Lipitor, Celebrex, Lyrica and Viagra, for free to people who have lost their jobs and health insurance since January 1, 2009.

Consumers can call 866-706-2400 to sign up for the program, which will provide free medications for up to a year. You can only sign up if you have already been taking the medication for at least three months.

Here’s video of an AP story on the Pfizer program:

COBRA is not the best name for a government program, is it? When you get laid off, you’d probably rather be handed information on a program called KOALA or KITTEN than COBRA.

A cobra sounds like it might eat your kitten — not to mention all your savings as you look for a new job.

And sure enough, many Americans are scared by COBRA, or at least downright frustrated. Because the last thing you want to hear when you lose your job is that you’re going to have a big new expense — paying for your own health insurance.

But thanks to the stimulus plan recently passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, COBRA’s benefits are better than ever.

By law, employers must provide laid-off workers information about COBRA, a government mandate that gives workers the right to choose to continue coverage under the employer’s group plan for a limited period. The average monthly premium for COBRA is $300 for an individual and $1,000 for a family.

That may sound expensive — and it is — but it’s generally much cheaper than finding insurance on your own.

And now, thanks to the stimulus legislation, many workers who have been laid off can receive a 65 percent subsidy for up to nine months, meaning that you only have to pay 35 percent of the total cost. For a family, that can reduce the average burden from $1,000 per month to $350 per month — saving the family about $6,000 over a nine-month period.

For many Americans, this will make the difference in whether that can afford COBRA coverage — and whether they can afford to pay for their prescription drugs.

The federal subsidy applies only to people who have lost jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. For information, visit the Department of Labor’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html.

Remember, you are required to sign up for COBRA within 60 days of being laid off or you lose the option.

With the U.S. economy in a shambles and more Americans skipping their meds rather than paying prices they can’t afford, some pharmaceutical assistance programs are increasing the help they offer to financially strapped consumers.

If you’ve ever looked into these programs, you know they can be a hassle to apply for. With both government and pharmaceutical industry programs, it can sometimes feel like running a marathon to get approved.

But with those caveats, the good news is that more people are qualifying for these programs today than ever before.

Here’s a sample of what’s currently available:

• The HealthWell Foundation, a nonprofit that helps people struggling with drug costs, upped its monthly assistance allocation in February to $10 million, up from $8.5 million in January.
• The pharmaceutical firm Merck — maker of Singulair, Januvia, and many other drugs — will now provide drug assistance to consumers with a household income of $43,320 or less for individuals, $58,280 or less for couples, or $88,200 or less for a family of four. This is double the previous income threshhold — and applies even if the income situation is temporary as a result of unemployment.
• The pharmaceutical firm Abbott this month launched a program to help patients pay for the drug Humira. Now many patients will not have to pay more than $5 per month for the drug, whether or not they have insurance.
• Together Rx Access, a discount card offered by drug companies, has raised the income eligibility threshhold for the program. The annual income requirement now ranges from $45,000 or less a year for a single person (up from $30,000) to $105,000 or less for a family of five (up from $70,000).
  
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