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The 3 A's of Access

  • Writer: SAKS Access Team
    SAKS Access Team
  • Jul 30, 2025
  • 3 min read
The 3 A's of Access_SAKS Health Blog Post

To a farmer in the 1930s looking to manage crop yields, AAA would likely mean the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. To a Gunner’s Mate on an aircraft carrier in the 1940s, AAA would likely mean anti-aircraft artillery. To a parent planning a family vacation in the 1960s, AAA would likely mean the American Automobile Association. And to a promising baseball player looking to break into the big leagues, AAA could only mean Triple-A - the highest level of minor league baseball. 


But to a market access professional AAA should mean the 3 key aspects of market access: access, acquire, and afford. In the context of pharmaceutical marketing, the term access is a broad one and can mean many different things to many different people. At SAKS Health, when we work with our clients to launch and support their products in the marketplace, we think about access in the following distinct ways.


  • Access. A wise person once said that “it’s not a sale until someone pays for it.” And for pharma this is critical based on the heavy investment in education and communication just to get the prescription written for the right patient. Job one for payer marketers is to get formulary decision makers to cover their drug with an adequate reimbursement, to complete that sales journey. The most important factor in this effort is to develop and communicate an effective value proposition. 


We generally recommend rolling up our sleeves with our clients to workshop the foundation of the payer story and value proposition. Once key clinical and economic messages have been developed and approved by the clients, it’s a very good idea to test those messages with the payer decision makers who will be evaluating the product for potential coverage. Strong messaging can help drive an effective value proposition, which can be supported with payer disease state awareness, objection handling, health economic and outcomes research, and tools such as a formulary kit and model coverage policy.


  • Acquire. That wise person also once said that “coverage is great, but it’s not a sale until the patient has acquired the drug.” It’s important to minimize the friction associated with getting a patient on and keeping them on therapy. At SAKS Health we work closely with our clients and their patient support teams to help:

    • Educate patients. It’s important that patients are aware of their benefits and engaged in the process of their care. Patients can be better informed through websites, videos, brochures, doctor discussion guides, next step flashcards, etc.

    • Educate HCPs. With most specialty products, the primary source of friction is working through the prior authorization process. HCPs and their office staff require the support of pharmaceutical companies through reps or field reimbursement managers, patient services websites, enrollment forms, annotated enrollment forms, prior authorization checklists, letter of medical necessity/letter of appeal templates, access and reimbursement guides, billing and coding guides, etc. 


  • Afford. One final quote from that wise person: “it’s not a sale if the patient doesn’t fill the script.” It’s critical that patients are able to afford the therapies they are prescribed. Fortunately most people in the United States have some form of health insurance that can make that happen for them. As noted in Access above, we work closely with our clients to optimize coverage for their products. However, even the best plans involve some level of cost-sharing. 


In order to help patients start and stay on therapy, we have experience working with our clients on patient services solutions, including copay support, patient assistance, and bridge programs. Effective patient communications can help minimize abandonment and increase adherence to prescribed therapies.


At SAKS Health we are privileged to leverage our experience around “access, acquire, and afford” on behalf of our clients. Together we are able to optimize access to pharmaceutical products and move the needle towards Better Healthcare TomorrowTM.

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