By Christi Reynard (WINONA)

Imagine choosing between your mental health and breathing.

It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel or a TV show. A tyrannical sorcerer appears before a hero, putting before them a terrible choice: sacrifice their mental health, or their ability to breathe. Some people in southern Minnesota have to make a similar choice every month, and there is nothing fantastical about it.

“That’s exactly the reason we created MediAppS,” Shanna Harris, Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota Executive Director says. “At Catholic Charities, we believe that no one should be without prescribed medications because they cannot afford to pay for them.”

In 2023, the MediAppS or Medication Application Services Program marks its 20th year of helping people pay for their prescription drugs. In just the last year, the MediAppS program helped 99 uninsured or underinsured individuals obtain needed prescription medications they cannot afford on their own. Heading into the new year, MediAppS needs more funding to expand the program to help more people obtain essential prescription medication.

People like Miranda*, 37, of Winona County. Miranda had been on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for several years but chose to discontinue that coverage because she felt her health had improved. She was able to hold down a steady job and cover all of her expenses. However, when her mental health issues returned while she was in-between insurance coverage, forcing her to make that terrible choice every time she went to the pharmacy: pay for the meds to help her mental health, or the inhaler to help her breathe.

“She was in tears on the phone,” Jan Wieser, Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota MediAppS Coordinator says. “She just couldn’t pay for the medications she needed her rent and everything else we all need to live.”

Weiser hears stories like Miranda’s almost every day.

“People are making tough decisions that many of us could not even imagine. Choosing between the drugs that keep them healthy and their rent, or food, or gas to get to work,” Wieser says.

A Rand Corporation study of drug prices in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world shines a light on what Americans face every time they have a prescription filled. People in the U.S. often pay at least twice as much as those in other developed countries.

“We cannot fix the issues that make prescription drug prices so high in this country, but we can try to help the people affected by those high prices get the medications they need to be healthy,” Harris says.

Catholic Charities was able to help Miranda in two ways. First, by working with her local pharmacy, and paying for 90 days’ worth of her medications through the MediApps Emergency Cash Assistance Fund. Then, by helping her sign up for and navigate programs by pharmaceutical companies to get her medications for free or at a reduced cost.

“I can’t thank the MediAppS Program enough,” Miranda exclaims. “I’d just cry every month because I need the medication. Otherwise, I’ll die or end up in the psych ward. MediApps is a true hero to me.”

*Name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.