Rhode Island Barriers to Prescription Drug Access

Access to medical treatments, prescriptions and therapies is critical to reducing suffering and death from cancer and other chronic illnesses. Yet too many patients face out-of-pocket costs, insurer policies and other barriers that can delay access to services that treat, manage and prevent the disease. Sharing the stories of patients who have experienced these barriers helps our lawmakers understand why it is critical to protect patients from these unnecessary hardships.

Your story is so important we want to hear from you! We are looking for stories about:

Any issue you've dealt with in accessing prescriptions and treatments, including:

• Step Therapy: Have you been forced to go through step therapy as part of your cancer care? Step therapy, often called “fail first,” is a process that requires patients to try and fail on one or more medications chosen by their insurer before they can access the optimal treatment recommended and prescribed by their healthcare provider.
• Prescriptions Drug Coupons or Cards: Has the copay coupon or card you've used not counted towards your out -of-pocket cap resulting in a higher out of pocket cost?