Together Rx Discount Card Program To Offer Reduced Rates on Generic Treatments
Seven brand-name pharmaceutical companies yesterday announced that Together Rx, a pharmacy discount card program that they established earlier this year, will begin to offer discounts on generic treatments, the New York Times reports. Peggy Heller, a spokesperson for Together Rx, said that pharmacy chain Eckerd on Sunday will begin to offer Together Rx members discounts of about 30% on more than 1,000 generic treatments (Petersen, New York Times, 11/15). Under Together Rx, Medicare beneficiaries who do not have prescription drug coverage and have annual incomes up to $28,000 for an individual and $38,000 for a couple receive 20% to 40% discounts on their prescription drug purchases. Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Pharmaceuticals established the program in April. More than 300,000 seniors have enrolled in Together Rx (California Healthline, 10/3). The seven pharmaceutical companies hope that other pharmacy chains will "follow the lead" of Eckerd, which unveiled a discount two times the amount expected. Eckerd spokesperson Joan Gallagher said, "We think it's the right thing to do. This is a big underserved population that might not take a medicine if they cannot afford to fill their prescription" (Albright, St. Petersburg Times, 11/15). Longs Drug Stores has unveiled a separate pharmacy discount card program that will offer seniors discounts on treatments not covered by Together Rx, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 11/15).
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