Dr. Ai-Ja Jackson

So when you're looking at medications, it is a lot cheaper for the health plan to get you on a generic medication.

It's like,

pennies versus thousands of dollars to say for generic versus a brand name.

A lot of these pharmacy benefit managers have formulary.

So going, looking into access of the drug, if that medication isn't on the formulary that your insurance is under, they're going to want you to try one of their medications first that is on that formulary before they give the okay or, you know,

kind of hound your doctor on why this non-formulary medication is good for you and why they should cover it.

My perspective is I just also wish a lot of patients knew that with certain medications, I'm in the specialty background, so a lot of medications, they do have funding for patients.

They do have help.

So I know a lot of

people are prescribed on these medications and they're like, oh my goodness, how am I going to afford that?

And my recommendation would be go onto the manufacturer's website, look up the medication, and there are tabs on there that says financial support and see what you have to do.

Because

you know, sometimes these patients do need these medications, but sometimes insurance makes it hard for them.

Sometimes financially, it becomes hard for them.

But I do want to let them know, like, you have ways to get that med.

Exactly.

I just want to piggyback off of that.

I think that's a good segue to

talk a little bit more about pharmacogenomics, right?

Because pharmacogenomics looks at more so individualized medication.