Needy find medicine help with Montel

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

ANNA VELASCO

News staff writer

Montel Williams wriggled and flexed at the knees while he waited for his turn to speak. When his time came, the television talk show host first limped toward the back of the room to greet those who had crowded into Cooper Green Mercy Hospital's lobby to see him and to learn how they could get help affording their medicine.

Back at the microphone, Williams told the more than 400 people gathered that he was having a rough morning in his battle with multiple sclerosis.

"But my day is going to get better," said Williams, swallowing hard to choke back tears. "I gave myself two shots this morning and will take a third tonight. I took a handful of 18 pills and will take 12 more tonight."

Williams said he was fortunate he could afford health insurance that would cover his $2,500 monthly prescription costs. But he was haunted by a woman with MS whom he met in an airport. She couldn't work and could barely walk. She couldn't afford her medicine.

He decided to help and a year ago became the national spokesman for Partnership for Prescription Assistance. The program is sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the national association for brand-name drug companies.

Williams and representatives with the nonprofit effort were in town Tuesday to help low-income people without drug coverage enroll in an assistance program that could help them get prescriptions for free, or nearly free.

Drug companies have been offering assistance programs to the needy for five decades, but many people didn't know about them, said Ken Johnson, senior vice president with the drug association. Even when people know such programs exist, there are 475 assistance programs, 180 offered by the drug companies, and figuring out which ones to apply for is tough.

That's where Partnership for Prescription Assistance comes in. Formed in April 2005, Partnership streamlines applying for the myriad programs into one enrollment process and provides staff to help people apply.

"We take the mystery out of finding help," Johnson said.

The Help is Here Express bus, equipped with computers and telephones, was parked outside Cooper Green for several hours Tuesday. People lined up in the cold after the press conference to get help from staff.

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But the program has a toll-free number and Web site to help people enroll anytime. Pharmacy staff at Cooper Green also will help people interested in the program.

Since it started, Partnership for Prescription Assistance has helped 75,000 Alabamians and 3.3 million Americans. Johnson estimated another 125,000 people in Alabama were eligible for the help.

Deborah Watson, 52, came Tuesday because she can't afford many of her prescriptions. She is the guardian of five grandchildren and lives on a tight fixed income.

With prescriptions in hand, Watson waited for a turn on the bus.

"This means the world to me," she said. "It means I have hope."

E-mail: avelasco@bhamnews.com

PARTNERSHIP FOR PRESCRIPTION ASSISTANCE

What: Help getting medicine for free, or nearly free, for the low-income uninsured.

Who: People without drug coverage who make $36,000 or less for a family of four, $24,000 or less for a family of two, or $19,000 or less for an individual.

How: Call 888-477-2669 or go to www.pparx.org.