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Schering-Plough Brings ‘Help Is Here Express’ Bus Tour to Elizabeth
To Help Patients in Need Obtain Prescription Medicines
Elizabeth, NJ (February 5, 2007) – The “Help is Here Express” national bus tour will be in Elizabeth today, stopping at the Elizabeth Town Hall to help people who are having trouble affording their prescription medicines. Since its launch in April 2005, the bus tour -- sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies -- has visited all 50 states and more than 1,000 cities to raise awareness about patient assistance programs. The “Help is Here Express” is part of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a national effort that has helped more than 3.4 million patients, including more than 105,000 in New Jersey, find programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free.
The “Help is Here Express” is staffed by trained specialists able to quickly help low-income, uninsured or under-insured patients access more than 475 patient assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. When the “Help is Here Express” moves on, patients in need can visit PPA’s easy-to-use Web site ( HYPERLINK "http://www.PPARX.org" www.PPARX.org) or call the toll-free phone number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) where trained operators field calls in more than 150 languages.
“The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is changing thousands of lives everyday,” said PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin. “No one's helped by a medicine that sits on the shelf and is out of reach financially. We will keep coming back to New Jersey as long as there are people who need our help.”
On a national level, the PPA is represented by Emmy-winning syndicated talk show host Montel Williams, named PPA’s national spokesman in January 2006. In addition, nationally recognized Telemundo talk show host and author Mayte Prida leads the PPA’s Hispanic outreach effort.
More than 1,300 national, state and local partners, including Schering-Plough in New Jersey are working with America’s pharmaceutical companies to spread the word about the program. Trained specialists work with doctors, pharmacists, health care providers and community groups, educating them on the process and use of the PPA’s easy-access Web site and toll-free number.
Over 2,500 different brand-name and generic prescription medicines are available through participating patient assistance programs. In addition, the PPA provides information on nearly 10,000 free healthcare clinics and has connected more than 100,000 patients with clinics and health care providers in their communities.
“We thank Schering-Plough for sponsoring this important event,” stated City of Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage. “This program allows residents one-stop shopping for the hundreds of patient assistance programs available to help pay for essential medication. Without this tremendous resource it would be almost impossible to research such information on your own. We are grateful to be a host city for the ‘Help is Here Express’ Bus Tour, knowing that so many of our residents will benefit greatly from this valuable program.”
"We believe strongly in making medicines more easily available to the patients who need them,” said Joseph Starkey, Executive Director of Public Affairs at Schering-Plough. “We are proud to support the ‘Help is Here Express’ and to join the City of Elizabeth in registering people within our communities in programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free and informing health care providers about this valuable resource."
To find out if there are patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist.
