New Together Rx card program extends Rx discounts for uninsured

Drug Store News, Feb 14, 2005 by James Frederick

WASHINGTON -- A new and further-reaching program from drug manufacturers to extend prescription savings to the uninsured could give millions of Americans another reason to get their prescriptions filled, boosting both patient compliance and drug utilization.

The new Together Rx Access Card program--not to be confused with the Together Rx Medicare discount card program cosponsored by seven rug manufacturers, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and other groups--got an official sendoff Jan. 11. According to the 10 companies offering drug savings through the program, its benefits could reach as many as 36 million uninsured Americans.

Unlike the original Together Rx program, the new card program is aimed at all the estimated 45 million Americans--including more than 8 million children--who are uninsured and don't have prescription drug coverage. An estimated 80 percent of those individuals are in income brackets that could qualify them for discounts of 25 percent to 40 percent on some 275 branded pharmaceuticals, which card sponsors call "the broadest range of pharmaceuticals of any industry program."

Enrollments are now under way, and the card will be available in mid-February, according to Together Rx. To enroll, applicants must be legal U.S. residents younger than 65 with maximum household incomes of $30,000 for a single person and up to $70,000 for a family of five. They also must have no current pharmacy coverage.

Outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson called the program "a common-sense, pragmatic way to give the uninsured access to prescription medicines."

The Together Rx Access L.L.C. includes Abbott Labs, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis Group, Takeda and Tap Pharmaceutical Products. Patients can sign up by calling (800) 444-4106 or by visiting www.TogetherRxAccess.com.