Patient Advocate Foundation Announces Additional Support for Patient Co-Pay Relief Program Serving Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients

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Jun 03, 2011, 09:53 ET

Co-Pay Relief Program Provides Direct Financial Support for Pharmaceutical Co-Payments to Insured Patients in Medical and Financial Need

HAMPTON, Va., June 3, 2011/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is pleased to announce that it has received a new contribution enabling it to begin offering support to patients suffering with nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through its Co-Pay Relief Program (CPR) on June 6, 2011 at 11:00 AM EDT. PAF is a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases.

PAF's Co-Pay Relief Program provides direct financial support for pharmaceutical co-payments to insured patients, including Medicare Part D beneficiaries, who financially and medically qualify. Since the program's inception in April 2004, CPR distributed more than $120 million in assistance to more than 46,000 patients who were unable to afford their pharmaceutical co-payments.

"A debilitating or life-threatening diagnosis can be the most overwhelming experience a person may ever face in his or her lifetime. Coupled with high-cost pharmaceutical co-pay expenses, the journey can become significantly more challenging to manage," said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, Founder and CEO of PAF. "Patient Advocate Foundation created the Co-Pay Relief Program in 2004 after receiving an increased number of patients seeking co-pay assistance for pharmaceutical drugs, so we are particularly pleased to be able to offer assistance to more patients every year."

Globally, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer and the biggest killer, causing 1.3 million cancer deaths annually. About 85 – 90 percent of all lung cancers are NSCLC. The liver, bones and brain are potential targets if the cancerous cells enter the bloodstream. NSCLC comprises a group of histologies or tumor types differentiated by cellular structure. Nonsquamous histology includes adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma, which account for more than half of all NSCLC diagnoses, as well histologies classified as "other."

In 2010, Co-Pay Relief Program assisted 13,848 patients, a 49.59 percent increase from 2009, and allocated approximately $31.2 million to patients to help alleviate the financial burden of out-of-pocket pharmaceutical co-payments. Nearly half of CPR patients were over the age of 65, a 10.09 percent increase from 2009, which indicates that seniors are facing financial obstacles due to both medical and cost-of-living debt crises. Additionally, 16 percent of CPR patients are age 46 to 55 years and six percent are 36 to 45 years of age.

Patient Advocate Foundation and its companion organization, the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), were founded on the principle that health care is a basic human need and shared social responsibility. Annually, PAF receives thousands of contacts requesting information and assistance via their toll-free hotline, as well as online, with complete direct, sustained case management services provided to patients from all fifty states free of charge. For more information about PAF, visit www.patientadvocate.org or call toll free (800) 532-5274. For more information about PAF's Co-Pay Relief Program visit www.copays.org or call toll free (866) 512-3861.

SOURCE Patient Advocate Foundation