Delivering Help WhereIt Is Needed (NAPSA)— Oneorganization is helping patients get the medical care they need—including prescription medicines—after such natural disasters as floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. For example, when the Midwest flooding struck Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, many uninsured and financially struggling patients were unsure where to turn for help to get their prescription medicines. To assist these communities in crisis, the “Help Is Here Express” national bus tour visited the flood-ravaged areas, bringing affected Midwesterners To date, a national bus tour has helped more than 5 million patients nationwide get the medi- cine they needed after a disaster. information on patient assistance nationwide. The bus tour has visited all 50 states and more than 2,000 communities to educate Americans about prescription medi- (PPA), a nationwide program than 1,300 national, state and local partners are working along with America’s pharmaceutical research companies to spread the word about programsthat offer free or nearly free prescription medicines. The tour is part of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies. The PPA helps uninsured and financially struggling patients access more than 475 patient assistance programs, including nearly 200 sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies. “From hurricane-devastated New Orleans to tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kan., the PPA has been there when people have needed it most. Now, it is time for us to help the people of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), “We want to do our part by expediting access to patient assistance pro- grams to help patients quickly obtain their medicines in communities recovering from such catastrophic natural disasters.” To date, the PPA has helped more than 5 million patients cine assistance programs. More PPA andparticipating patient assistance programs. More than 2,500 different brand-name medicines and generic drugs are available throughparticipating programs. In addition, PPA has provided information on nearly 10,000 free health care clinics and has connected more than 241,000 patients with clinics and health care providers in their communities. If you are uninsured or finan- cially struggling and need help accessing essential prescription medicines, you can contact the PPA by calling toll-free (888) APPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak to a trained specialist or visit Www.pparx.org. For more information on PhRMA and America’s pharmaceutical research companies, visit www.PhRMAorg.
