"The PPA, so far, has helped well over 456,000 Illinoisans find out if they may qualify for free or discounted medicines and as we move forward into 2009, the assistance is still available," said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). "That's good news for the citizens of Illinois, where there are well over a half a million [570,000] people out of work."
Patients who qualify for help from the PPA's participating patient assistance programs have access to more than 2,500 brand-name and generic prescription medicines. In addition, the PPA provides information on more than 10,000 free health care clinics in America and has connected more than 277,000 patients with clinics and health care providers in their communities.
Patients seeking help from PPA can call a toll-free number (1-888-4-PPA-NOW) to talk to a trained operator or access the PPA Web site (www.pparx.org). It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to find out if someone may qualify for free or discounted medications.
To help spread the word about the assistance available, the PPA's "Help Is Here Express" buses continue to visit communities all over the country with trained specialists on board to provide information on how to access patient assistance programs. All 50 states and more than 2,500 towns and cities have been visited so far, and more than 5.7 million patients have been helped nationwide since the PPA began in April 2005.
"At a time when national unemployment is the highest in almost two decades, the PPA has become an important lifeline for a growing number of patients," PhRMA's Johnson said. "Millions of Americans have been added to the jobless rolls over the last several months and there could be a sharp increase in the number of our citizens losing health care benefits."
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