FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Financial Assistance from The Assistance Fund Now Available for Eligible People Living with Porphyria
ORLANDO, Fla., February 19, 2020 — The Assistance Fund (TAF), an independent charitable patient assistance foundation that helps patients and families facing high medical out-of-pocket costs, today announced the launch of a new financial assistance program for people living with porphyria. The program is designed to help eligible individuals pay for their out-of-pocket costs for treatment, such as copayments, health insurance premiums, and incidental medical expenses, resulting from the condition.
Porphyria is a group of metabolic disorders resulting when enzyme activity is altered within the heme biosynthetic pathway, which leads to overproduction of porphyrins or porphyria precursors. Symptoms of acute hepatic porphyria are typically abdominal pain, muscle weakness, chest pain and problems within the nervous system. Without a cure, treatment is necessary for patients to reduce the frequency of symptoms.¹
“People living with porphyria experience symptoms that cause extreme discomfort, including severe abdominal pain, nausea, and even paralysis,” said Mark P. McGreevy, President and CEO of The Assistance Fund. “Thanks to our generous donors, TAF’s new Porphyria Financial Assistance Program will allow people living with porphyria to manage their symptoms without the worry of how they will pay for their treatment.”
“A porphyria diagnosis is often overwhelming for patients based on the symptoms alone,” said Kristen Wheeden, Executive Director of the American Porphyria Foundation. “It is imperative that people living with porphyria have access to available treatments to minimize their pain and discomfort while increasing their quality of life. We are grateful to The Assistance Fund for opening this program.”
To learn more or determine eligibility for financial support, visit tafcares.org or call (855) 927-1624 to speak with a Patient Advocate.
A list of all the programs available from The Assistance Fund can be found on the website tafcares.org.
About The Assistance Fund
The Assistance Fund is an independent charitable patient assistance foundation that helps patients and families facing high medical out-of-pocket costs by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles and other health-related expenses. The Assistance Fund currently manages more than 60 programs – each of which covers the FDA-approved medications that treat a specific disease. Since its founding in 2009, The Assistance Fund has helped more than 78,000 adults and children access the medicines they need to stay healthy or manage a chronic condition. To learn more about The Assistance Fund, or for information on how to donate, please visit tafcares.org.
Media Contact
Margaret Figley
Director of Communications
margaret.figley@tafcares.org
¹ “Porphyria.” The Mayo Clinic. (December 4, 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/symptoms-causes/syc-20356066