It makes it more likely that someone will buy and pick up their medication as opposed to going without it because of cost, said Dr. John Lin, an oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Lin was part of the team at Penn Medicine as a fellow and worked closely with Doshi and others on proposals and reform research.
But too many people who could benefit from the payment plan, like some of his cancer patients, are still left in the dark, Lin said.
“I think that making patients aware, the government is not really good at that,” he said. “I think it has to get better.”
Awareness about the prescription program has improved during the first year of its existence, according to findings from a national poll by the PAN Foundation, a health care charitable and advocacy organization.
But it is inconsistent, said Amy Niles, chief mission officer at PAN, and gaps in knowledge still remain.
“In an ideal world, I think any health care provider who knows that they’re prescribing a really high-cost medication to a Medicare beneficiary should have a conversation,” Niles said. “Sometimes, I think it’s happening. Sometimes, it’s just not.”
Researchers and advocates are pushing the government to create a point-of-sale enrollment option.
Currently, if someone gets to the pharmacy counter and is charged an amount they can’t afford, and they want to enroll in the prescription plan, they would have to leave the store and arrange enrollment with their Medicare insurance provider.
All of that makes it less likely for someone to complete the process. Opting in at the moment of purchase would be an improvement, Doshi said.
“If it’s easy enough for consumer goods, why can’t we do this for lifesaving medications?” she asked.
For now, advocates and supporters hope that increasing awareness about the program will help more people and be enough as they propose additional reforms for Medicare.
“If you know you have a diagnosis where it’s possible that you could have a big bill for your medication, even if you don’t have one today, I would say definitely look into it,” Lin said. “I’d encourage people to sign up for it.”