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Financial assistance for specialty medications

Everyone should be able to access the treatments they need. We're here to help you find ways to access and afford your medication.

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Better medication access, deeper savings

Financial assistance programs can go a long way toward helping patients pay for — and stay on — their prescription medications. That’s why Optum Specialty and Optum Infusion Pharmacy put such a focus on making sure that we secure all available assistance for you. Optum Savings IQ™ accesses 100% of available funding, ensuring patients receive the lowest possible copay.

Our Savings IQ technology opens up a new level of personalized savings by:

  • Alerting us when you need financial assistance
  • Accessing 100% of the assistance available to each patient
  • Identifying each patient’s precise out-of-pocket costs, so we only secure the funding needed

Here’s how it works:

  • Your doctor prescribes the medication.
  • You provide consent to financial assistance.
  • Savings IQ proactively matches you with a plan that offers the lowest possible out-of-pocket cost.

 

Assistance matters

Specialty medications can be expensive for many patients. We’re here to help.

69% of patients abandon their medication when it’s $250 or more.1

52% abandon their medication when it’s $125 or more1

$7,036 is the average monthly cost for a specialty medication before assistance2

$823.5 million savings in 2023 with an annual goal of $1 billion in 20243

Paying for specialty medication

Have questions about financial help? We’ve got answers. Download our financial assistance FAQ sheet.

Download

Financial assistance guide

Prescription cost help when you need it

We know specialty medication can be costly. Our dedicated team can help you find ways to make the medication you need more affordable.

Learn more

How we help

  • Copay cards and assistance: Some specialty medications have drug manufacturer copay cards to help cover a portion of the cost. These copay cards have become popular, especially with high-cost specialty medications. They can lower your out-of-pocket costs under your pharmacy benefit on some prescription medications.
  • Grants: Different organizations across the country offer grants or financial assistance. A grant is an amount of money given by an organization to an individual for a specific purpose. They can be available for certain conditions, treatments, level of prescription costs or other patient qualifications and do not need to be paid back.
  • Manufacturer coupons: Sometimes drug manufacturers offer coupons for certain drugs, like those that are only available as brand-name medications.
  • Nonprofit organizations: A number of nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations exist to help people cover the cost of prescription drugs.

For more information on fertility financing options, click here. 

We’re dedicated to getting you the medication you need, when you need it, your way. Contact us today to discuss care and treatment options.

Footnotes:

  1. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Biopharmaceuticals in Perspective. Published 2020. Accessed Feb. 15, 2023.
  2. AARP Public Policy Institute. Trends in Retail Prices of Specialty Prescription Drugs Widely Used by Older Americans, 2006 to 2020.
  3. Optum Specialty Pharmacy, Optum Exchange financial assistance book of business. 2023.