Jewish World Review July 14, 2003 / 14 Tamuz, 5763

Kathy Read

JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Discount cards can help seniors until Congress passes a drug benefit


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | Seventeen million American seniors don't have prescription drug coverage, but only a small fraction of them are taking advantage of prescription drug discount cards offered by various pharmaceutical companies.

The latest figures show less than 10 percent of that number actually have signed up for the so-called share cards as senior citizen groups such as AARP push Congress to pass universal prescription drug benefits.

That's a shame because the cards offer excellent savings on many of America's most popular drugs and can help needy seniors stretch their budgets until Congress passes the long-anticipated prescription drug benefit.

With the average price of a brand-name prescription running at $70, the cards can help needy seniors afford the top-rated medicines for their specific illnesses and avoid have to take low-cost generics.

Without the proper prescription drugs to treat their illnesses, ailing, low-income seniors are likely to get sicker and require more emergency room visits, more hospitalization and more major surgery.

As the country waits for the federal government to act, seven of America's top pharmaceutical firms are now offering some sort of assistance program to help seniors obtain prescription drugs.

Donate to JWR

Typical of the programs is the Living Share Card program offered by Pfizer, the global pharmaceutical company with headquarters in New York.

Introduced last year, the program already has enrolled more than 375,000 seniors and filled more than 2.2 million prescriptions. For a flat fee of $15 per prescription - the current average co-pay for prescription drugs for private coverage plans - the Living Share Card enables seniors to obtain a 30-day supply of most Pfizer drugs.

That's a savings of about 70 percent over the average retail price. More than 98 percent of pharmacies across the United States accept the Share Card, meaning the majority of seniors eligible for the program will have access to the drugs and medications they need right in their hometown. More information about the Share Card is available at www.pfizer.com.

Programs by other companies and groups offer similar benefits, the differences ranging from eligibility requirements to enrollment fees, different pricing structures, discount rates and so on.

They include:

_Together RX - The largest by far with more than 772,000 card holders, the program allows low-income seniors - singles with annual incomes of less than $28,000 and couples with annual incomes of less than $38,000 - to save upward of 40 percent or more on 170 brand-name medicines. Founded by Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis and Ortho-McNeil, Together RX claims to have saved needy seniors more than $104 million to date.

More information is available on www.togetherrx.com.

_Orange Card - Unveiled in October 2001 by GlaxoSmithKline, the Orange Card allows needy seniors to save 30 percent to 40 percent and, in some cases, more off the usual price of many GSK medicines. More than 150,000 seniors have signed up thus far. More information is available at www.gsk.com or by calling 1-888-ORANGE6.

_Lilly Answers - Designed for seniors whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid, this program offers the entire portfolio of Eli Lilly and Co. products. Included are medications for illnesses such as osteoporosis, diabetes, depression and schizophrenia - chronic diseases that afflict nearly one in every two seniors, or nearly 18 million.The program can be accessed on online at www.lillyanswers.com.

Senate and House conferees currently are meeting to forge a compromise on prescription drug bills that take widely varying approaches. Depending on the agreement they work out the benefits could take effect in a few months or a few years.

If the legislation dies, of course, Congress would have to start over again, and a prescription drug benefit for needy seniors could be even further down the road.

Until a federal prescription drug benefit actually materializes, the various drug discount programs offer a good "bridging the gap" alternative.

Unfortunately, many low-income seniors aren't aware of the programs despite fairly extensive national publicity about them. Many don't own or have access to personal computers and thus can't access them online.

Here's one situation where relatives, loved ones and volunteers can make a real difference. If you know of needy seniors who could be helped by a drug discount card, print out the information from various Web sites, help them figure out which program may be best for them and, if necessary, help them complete the enrollment forms.

It's a relatively simple thing to do and exactly the right prescription for a healthy, "feel good" glow.



Kathy Read is former publisher of The Wilson Quarterly, the journal of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Comment by clicking here.

Up

© 2003, Kathy Read