advocacy
Alternative Funding Programs
What are Alternative Funding Programs?
Alternative Funding Programs (AFPs) are companies that health plans hire to help them save money. Typically, AFPs help health plans avoid paying for their customers’ medications, including biologics and infused or injected medications used to treat chronic or rare diseases.
Instead of health plans paying for certain treatments, the plan will redirect patients to an AFP. The AFP will search for financial assistance programs to pay for the prescribed medication instead, or may ask the patient to obtain their medication from a country outside of the United States.
Patient assistance programs were originally created to help people who are uninsured or facing financial hardships. AFPs undermine access to care for those who truly need it.
Learn more
If your health plan denies your medication and tells you that you need to enroll in a program to receive your treatment, you may be dealing with an AFP. Learn more about this harmful practice and how you can fight back here.
Current Legislation
Below are state and federal level AFP bills that the Infusion Access Foundation either supports or opposes. Click on a highlighted state to learn more.
Contact your representatives
We have provided a template to contact your legislator to tell them how your treatment has been impacted by an AFP. Thank you for taking action against this harmful practice!
AFP Resources
What Are Alternative Funding Programs?
This article from the Infusion Access Foundation’s Director of Advocacy, Kindyl Boyer, explains what AFPs are and why they’re harmful to patients.
Letter to Employer
Is your employer’s health plan requiring you to use an AFP to obtain your treatments? Use this letter to express your concerns.
AFP Infographic
This handy infographic from Aimed Alliance breaks down how AFPs work.