Press Releases

Steven Cooper

Edelman

Phone : (212) 704-8242

Email : steven.cooper@edelman.com

Approximately 36 million uninsured Americans will be eligible to receive meaningful savings on a wide range of brand-name and generic prescription products through the Together Rx Access Card program, launched today by 10 companies. The new Together Rx Access Card offers savings, right at the pharmacy counter, on the broadest range of pharmaceuticals of any industry program through a free, easy-to-use Card. The Card will help uninsured Americans gain better access to prescription products. Enrollment begins today across the country for Americans who meet income eligibility requirements.
 
"The Together Rx Access Card will make life-saving and life-enhancing prescription medicines more affordable for millions of uninsured patients," said Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. "Solving the complex issue of helping the uninsured in this country gain access to healthcare must take a united effort by all sectors of society, and I commend these companies for stepping forward to be part of the solution. The Together Rx Access Card is a common-sense, pragmatic way to give the uninsured access to prescription medicines."
 
The Together Rx Access, L.L.C. includes Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies(1), Novartis, Pfizer, sanofi-aventis Group(2), Takeda, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. Together Rx Access, L.L.C. was created to help uninsured Americans gain broad access to and meaningful savings on prescription products.  Together, the participating companies offer savings on more than 275 brand-name prescription products.  These products include those used to treat diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, allergy, asthma, arthritis, and depression, which are among the most common conditions affecting Americans.  Eligible uninsured individuals can expect to save approximately 25-40 percent, and sometimes more(3), on the prescription products directly from the manufacturers, as well as on a wide range of generic products. Together Rx Access also can help direct individuals to various additional resources for help on obtaining coverage or products.
 
“The companies in Together Rx Access have stepped forward to offer substantial relief for the serious national problem of the uninsured,” said Roba Whiteley, executive director of Together Rx Access.  “The goal of the Together Rx Access Card is to help the millions of Americans without prescription drug coverage gain access to the prescription products they need.  It will also help them take care of what's most important – their health.  We believe that the Together Rx Access Card will make a real difference.”
 
The benefits of the Together Rx Access Card extend to 80 percent of the 45 million Americans – including more than eight million children – who are uninsured and don’t have prescription drug coverage.  Approximately eight out of 10 Americans without healthcare coverage are in families that are actively employed, working at full-time jobs or a series of part-time jobs that do not offer health insurance(4).  About one-third of Hispanics are uninsured, a rate three times higher than for non-Hispanic whites(5).
 
“The strengths of the Together Rx Access Card will not be savings alone,” said Ms. Whiteley.  “The breadth of choice that we are able to offer patients and their physicians helps to bring them the best of healthcare.”

To qualify for the Together Rx Access Card, applicants must be legal U.S. residents, not be eligible for Medicare, without public or private prescription drug coverage and with incomes of up to $30,000 for a single person or $60,000 for a family of four (income eligibility is adjusted for family size)(6).
 
In addition to participating in Together Rx Access, each of the 10 participating companies independently offers Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs).  People applying to enroll for Together Rx Access will be automatically notified if they may be eligible for further savings – and in some cases free medicines – through these PAPs.

For families who lack healthcare insurance, including prescription drug coverage, the consequences for their youngest members can be serious.  Uninsured children are three times less likely than insured children to get a prescription they need(7), and 70 percent more likely to go untreated for common illnesses such as asthma, ear infections, and sore throats, according to a national study(8).
 
“Together Rx Access companies have applied the experience gained through the successful implementation of the Together Rx prescription savings program for low-income Medicare beneficiaries to create an initiative to reach a broad cross-section of America’s uninsured,” Ms. Whiteley noted. 

Pharmacies nationwide have shown strong support for the Together Rx Access Card.  The Together Rx Access Card savings will be available at the majority of pharmacies nationwide and in Puerto Rico by mid-February 2005.

Those who qualify can enroll immediately in the Together Rx Access Card program free of charge by calling 1-800-444-4106 or visiting www.TogetherRxAccess.com.  The Together Rx Access Card will be effective mid-February, 2005. Enrollment forms and information also will be available through participating pharmacies and in physicians’ offices.

In introducing the Together Rx Access Card, the companies in Together Rx Access, L.L.C., are applying the experience that the Together Rx, L.L.C. companies gained in creating the successful Together Rx Card, which has enrolled nearly 1.5 million cardholders.  Since its introduction in 2002, the Together Rx Card has helped seniors save more than $700 million on prescription drugs.  With the advent of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, Together Rx Access now has the opportunity to provide uninsured, non-senior Americans with significant pharmaceutical savings.
 
The Together Rx Access companies encourage other pharmaceutical companies to join them in this unprecedented initiative.  The companies include:

Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 55,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.  For more information, please visit www.abbott.com. 

 

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $18.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products.  In the United States, AstraZeneca is an $8.7 billion healthcare business with more than 11,000 employees.  AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca.com.

 

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care products company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life.  For more information, please visit www.bms.com.

 

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer. For more information, please visit www.gsk.com.

 

Members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Johnson & Johnson, with approximately 109,100 employees, is the world's most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well as a provider of related services for the consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices and diagnostics markets.  Johnson & Johnson has more than 200 operating companies, including Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., and Janssen Pharmaceutica Products, L.P.  Its operating companies are in 57 countries, selling products throughout the world.  Additional information about Johnson & Johnson is available at www.jnj.com.

 

Janssen Pharmaceutica

Janssen Pharmaceutica Products, L.P. has a long track record in developing and marketing treatments for central nervous system disorders. Based in Titusville, N.J., its other specialty areas include pain management, treatment of fungal infections and therapy for gastrointestinal conditions. More information on the company can be found at www.janssen.com.

 

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. markets prescription drugs in the areas of women’s health, infectious disease, epilepsy, central nervous system, pain treatment, urology and migraine. For more information, visit www.ortho-mcneil.com.

 

Novartis

Novartis AG is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2003, the Group's businesses achieved sales of USD 24.9 billion and a net income of USD 5.0 billion. The Group invested approximately USD 3.8 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 80,000 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult www.novartis.com.

 

Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. is a research-based pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufacturers and markets innovative medicines for humans and animals. For over 30 years, Pfizer has been committed to providing patients in need with simple and convenient access to prescription medicines through a variety of Pfizer programs. Additional information about Pfizer is available online at www.pfizer.com.  Information about access to our medicines is available through our Pfizer Helpful Answers website, www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com.

 

sanofi-aventis Group

The sanofi-aventis Group is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in Europe.  Backed by a world-class R&D organization, the sanofi-aventis Group is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular disease, thrombosis, oncology, diabetes, central nervous system, internal medicine, and vaccines.  For more information, please visit www.sanofi-aventis.com.

 

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.

Based in Lincolnshire, Ill., Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. In the United States, Takeda currently markets oral diabetes and cholesterol lowering treatments, and through the Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. the company has a robust pipeline with compounds in development for diabetes, sleep, cardiovascular disease and other conditions.  Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products.  To learn more about the company and its products, visit www.tpna.com.

 

TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.

TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., located in Lake Forest, Ill., is a joint venture between Abbott, headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, of Osaka, Japan.  TAP markets Prevacid® (lansoprazole) and Lupron Depot® (leuprolide acetate for depot suspension).  For more information about TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., and its products, visit the company's Web site at www.tap.com.

 

About ICT

ICT Group, Inc. is a leading global provider of customer management and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, will serve as the Program Administrator for the new Together Rx Access program. Under the terms of the agreement, ICT Group will provide customer service, data capture/management, claims processing, Web and e-mail management and member enrollment/fulfillment services, in support of the Together Rx Access initiative.  ICT Group will be partnering with Argus Health Systems, Inc., for claims processing support and Rapid Solutions Group™ to provide fulfillment services.
 
ICT Group, headquartered in Newtown, Pa., provides a comprehensive mix of customer care/retention, acquisition, up-selling/cross-selling, technical support, market research and database marketing as well as e-mail management, co-browsing, data capture, claims processing and document management services, using its global network of 40+ operations located throughout North America, Europe, Australia, Barbados, Mexico and the Philippines. ICT Group also provides interactive voice response (IVR) and advanced speech recognition solutions as well as hosted Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technologies. To learn more about ICT Group, visit the Company's website at www.ictgroup.com.

 

* The original Together Rx, L.L.C companies are Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, sanofi-aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies,9 and Novartis. 

1. Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies participates through Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica Products L.P.

2. The sanofi-aventis Group is participating through its U.S. affiliates Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc.

3. Savings may vary depending on the pharmacy’s customary pricing for each specific product and the savings program offered by the participating company that makes it.  Participating companies independently set the level of savings offered and the products included in the program.  Those decisions are subject to change.

4. Source: Health Care Coverage in America: Understanding the Issues and Proposed Solutions.  http://covertheuninsuredweek.org/materials/files/IssuesGuide.pdf

5. "Challenges Confronting Hispanic Extended Hours Employees and Their Employers" Circadian Technologies, Inc. - September 2003 
http://www.circadian.com/media/2003_press_hispanic.htm

6. Alaska:  $38,000 single/$50,000 couple; Hawaii:  $35,000 single/$45,000 couple.  For households of three or more, call 1-800-444-4106 for eligibility information.

7. “Health Care Coverage in America: Understanding the Issues and Proposed Solutions” Cover the Uninsured Week

8. “In Focus:  Children’s Care and Coverage:  Where Do We Go from Here?”  Alliance for Health Reform.  October 1, 2004.  http://www.allhealth.org/

9. Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies participates through Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica Products L.P.