More than 30,000 qualify so far for discount drug program
By The Associated Press
Friday, March 18, 2005 11:37 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS - Nearly 33,000 low-income residents in Indiana have qualified for free or discounted prescription drugs using a new state-sponsored program run by pharmaceutical companies, Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday.
Since the Rx for Indiana program was launched last week, more than 50,000 people have called a toll-free number or logged on to a Web site to see whether they qualify for discounts or free drugs. Of those, 32,849 qualified for some programs, Daniels said.
''In my wildest dreams, I didn't imagine a start this quick,'' he said.
The Web site, rxforindiana.org, asks patients for information on age, income level and insurance to determine whether they are eligible for discounts or free medicine from drug companies.
Patients and doctors can fill out enrollment forms online and send them electronically to the programs. A toll-free number is available for those without Internet access.
Daniels said the state will be tracking numbers to know what the average savings are, but that he has spoken with several people who say their monthly drug bills have fallen from hundreds to around $10 or $20.
''It will be very typical for people to save money in the thousands of dollars,'' Daniels said.
Paul Severance, founder of the statewide advocacy group United Senior Action, said the Rx for Indiana program was great for those who qualified, but that more needed to be done for those struggling to pay bills but have too much income to qualify.
''Any help that we can give those people who do qualify, that's great,'' Severance said. But he said there are other options such as working harder to consolidate state purchases of prescription drugs to negotiate better prices or importing cheaper drugs from Canada and Europe that could help even more people.
Daniels, who was a top executive for pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly and Co. during the 1990s, has said that importing drugs from overseas is risky. He said in some places, counterfeit drugs and medication past their expiration dates are a problem.
The state has a Hoosier Rx program that gives a 75 percent discount on drugs, but the program is open only to low-income residents age 65 or older who do not have prescription drug coverage through an insurance plan or Medicaid.
Daniels said more people have been helped through the Rx for Indiana program in its first week than those helped by the Hoosier Rx program since it began in 2000.
The program will be advertised in the future to help more people sign up, the governor said.
''We're just getting started,'' Daniels said.
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