Prescription Drug Coverage - New Together RX Access Card

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New Together Rx Access™ Card Offers Americans With No Prescription Drug Coverage

Savings At The Pharmacy Counter

12 Jan 2005

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 and age 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. , 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 musttake 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, GlaxoKline, members of the & Family of Companies1,

Novartis, Pfizer, sanofi-aventis Group2, 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 more3,

on the prescription products directly from themanufacturers, 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 Accesshave 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.”

Broad Eligibility

To qualify for the Together Rx Access Card, applicants must be legal U.S.

residents under age 65 and otherwise not 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.

Safeguarding the Health of Working Americans and their Families

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 need7, 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.

Large Network of Participating Pharmacies

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.

How to Enroll

Those who qualify can enroll immediately in the Together Rx Access Card program

free of charge by calling 1-800-444-4106 or visiting

http://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.

About Together Rx Access™, L.L.C.

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 RxCard, which has enrolled nearly 1.5

million cardholders. Since its introduction in 2002, the Together RxCard has

helped seniors save more than $700 million on prescription drugs. With the

advent of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, Together Rx Accessnow 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 http://www.abbott.com