HEALTH BULLETIN Chronically Ill May Breathe Easier

(NAPSI)-There could be good news for millions of chronic disease patients who are concerned about getting the medicines they need. There's a group that has helped more than 6 million uninsured and financially struggling patients with patient-assistance programs that provide medicines free or nearly free. Former National Football League running back Jerome "The Bus" Bettis understands firsthand how important it is for patients struggling with a chronic disease to take the medicines their doctors prescribe. Bettis suffers from asthma but learned how to control his disease and refused to let it get in the way of his success. "Up until I had an asthma attack during a nationally televised football game, I always felt that asthma was a situation that I would deal with as needed," said Bettis. "Now I realize that I was in a life-threatening situation and I needed to do everything I could to understand what I was dealing with and how to manage and monitor myself to make sure I was in the right condition to stay healthy. "As someone who has suffered from asthma for years, I think it's important for patients to know all the resources available so they can manage their conditions and stay healthy," Bettis added. To help, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) provides access to hundreds of patient-assistance programs, providing free and nearly free medicines to qualifying uninsured and financially struggling patients. Nearly 200 of these programs are directly sponsored by pharmaceutical research companies. Eligible patients have access to more than 2,500 brand-name and generic prescription medicines. In addition, there's information on more than 10,000 free health care clinics in America and the partnership has connected hundreds of thousands of patients with clinics and health care providers in their communities. Uninsured and financially struggling patients seeking help can call (888) 4-PPA-NOW to talk to a trained operator or access the easy-to-use Web site, www.pparx.org. For more information on what America's pharmaceutical research companies are doing to help make medicines available to all patients, visit www.PhRMA.org. To learn more about how Jerome "The Bus" Bettis lives with his asthma and helps millions to better understand how they can live and succeed, visit www.sharingmiracles.com.

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