Byline: ELIZABETH SIMPSON THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Drug discount cards are not the full answer to the high cost of prescription medicines for elderly people, but they're a help for some needy seniors.
The state of Virginia joined forces with drug company Pfizer on Thursday to get the word out about a card the company began offering in March.
The Share Card is available to people on Medicare with incomes of less than $18,000 a year or married couples with incomes below $24,000. The card allows seniors to receive a 30-day supply of Pfizer prescriptions for $15. To qualify, people can't have any other type of insurance or qualify for Medicaid, the government insurance for low-income people.
The state held signups for the cards at 60 different sites across Virginia on Thursday.
Opal Towns enrolled at the Norfolk Health Department. The 84-year-old Norfolk resident takes five different medications, which cost $200 to $300 a month. Although only one of her medications is a Pfizer drug, she's thankful for whatever help she can get.
``Maybe I can use the extra money to go out and eat,'' she said.
Several other drug companies, including GlaxoSmith-Kline, Novartis and Lilly, have issued discount cards for senior citizens during the past year. The Together Rx card offers discounts on 150 different drugs from seven different companies.
Many drug companies began these programs after President Bush proposed issuing a federal discount card that would give a 10 percent to 25 percent savings on drugs. That plan is under consideration by Congress.
About 5,000 people in Virginia have applied for Pfizer's card, which covers 44 prescription drugs. The company estimates that 140,000 people in the state qualify.
Jane H. Woods, Virginia's secretary of Health and Human Resources, said Pfizer approached the state for help in raising awareness about the discount card. She said it's only a small, first step toward addressing the problem of the costs of prescription drugs for seniors. ``If another company wants to work on getting information out to seniors, we will work with them, too,'' Woods said.
Gary Bolick, director of government relations for Pfizer, said the card is only a bridge until the federal government comes up with a plan to include prescription drugs through Medicare, the insurance that covers the elderly and disabled.
Critics of discount cards say they cover only a small percentage of the elderly population and are used by the companies as a marketing tool. Also, older people generally take several types of medications, made by various companies, and would have to apply for several different cards.
``They're not giving away much,'' said Jay Levine, a pharmacist at Atrium Pharmacy in Norfolk. ``If you have any other insurance, like Blue Cross, it doesn't do you any good.''
Another criticism is that the $15 fee is not a better deal than the free prescriptions that some poor people - of any age - were getting through indigent programs set up by drug companies. Bolick said Pfizer does have such a program, but only for individuals who make less than $10,000 a year, as opposed to the $18,000 cutoff for the Share Card.
Bolick said the Share Card program also has an easier enrollment process.
Fifty-one people signed up for the card at the Norfolk Health Department on Thursday. One of them, 75-year-old Margaret Johnson, said she hopes it will help cover the four prescriptions she needs.
``I spent $187 on two prescriptions just yesterday,'' she said. ``So I think this is a really good thing.''
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For more information about how to apply for discount cards, call the following companies toll-free :
GlaxoSmithKline: (888) 672-6436
Novartis: (866) 974-2273
Pfizer: (800) 717-6005
Lilly: (877) 795-4559
Together Rx (Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis): (800) 865-7211
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