Action Alert: Getting the Lower List Price for PCSK9 inhibitors

Ask the Pharmacy – Are you getting the lowest cost for your PCSK9 inhibitor?

1. Contact the pharmacy and ask if the out-of-pocket costs would be lower on the new NDC code.
2. Consider going to the local pharmacy and “shopping around” for the lower cost. Local pharmacies may now be able to fulfill PCSK9 inhibitor prescriptions.
3. In case of a problem, or to share success, contact the Family Heart Foundation.

Debbie’s Story

Debbie has both FH and ASCVD. She needs a PCSK9 inhibitor on top of her statin and ezetimibe to get her LDL Cholesterol down from over 400 mg/dL. She was paying $460 per month out of pocket for her PCSK9 inhibitor.

This was unaffordable, and she asked the Family Heart Foundation for help.

We gave her the new National Drug Codes and suggested she contact her pharmacy to ask for the lower price. She did. The pharmacy added the new code. She is now paying $118 out of pocket – a $342 per month savings!!!

Advocating for Patient-centric Care

Affordability is the difference between taking a medication or not. With FH, it can be the difference between preventing another heart attack or not. These are life and death choices. FH can’t wait for insurance plans and pharmacies to catch up with the manufacturers’ lower prices, or for patients to have to take care of this on their own. We need change now.

the Family Heart Foundation believes it should not be up to patients to ask for a lower price when one is available. This is a short-term fix for a problem that needs a more systematic solution. the Family Heart Foundation has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and to members of Congress for their support to ensure that when drug prices go down, patients taking those drugs see the benefits right away.

Join the effort by contacting us at at (626)583-4674 or emailing [email protected] !

Sincerely,