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Medicine Program May Help Needy Latinos

By Richard Khavkine, Staff Writer

 August 22, 2007 — Four in 10 Latinos living in New Jersey had difficulties paying for medicines in the last year, according to an AARP study released in May.

And with 61 percent of Latinos expressing concern about paying for future prescriptions, health and government officials have launched a campaign aimed at Latinos publicizing a program that helps the underinsured and uninsured secure affordable or no-cost medicines.

On Tuesday morning, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-Middlesex, came to the Eric B. Chandler Health Center on George Street to highlight Rx4NJ, a program advocates say could prove a far-reaching remedy.

Rx4NJ, begun in January 2005, brings together a coalition of the state′s pharmaceutical and medical companies, doctors, patient-advocacy organizations and civic groups to provide the medicines to low-income people.

While Rx4NJ cannot replace broader state and federal programs to help those constituencies get needed medical care, Pallone said the program is a timely one, particularly given the state′s 1.2 million residents without health insurance.

“We want to eliminate that disparity,” he said. “All these efforts are preventative in nature.”

Applicants are able to determine their eligibility program by calling a toll-free number and answering a few questions. Those who qualify are directed to any one of hundreds of public or private programs, which then facilitate access to more than 3,200 medicines.

While it can take up to 45 days from the first phone call to get an initial prescription filled, participants in the program gain faster access to medicines from then on, said Bob Franks, the president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, a trade association for pharmaceutical and medical technology concerns based in New Jersey and a participant in the Rx4NJ partnership.

“There is a huge cost savings when people who need medicine find a way to secure that medicine,” Franks said at the Chandler Center Tuesday. “We′re helping literally tens of thousands of people.”

Since its inception, residents in the Pallone′s 6th Congressional District made 11,671 contacts to Rx4NJ, ranking it fourth out of New Jersey′s 13 Congressional districts.

Pallone said he is often frustrated at attempts in Washington, D.C. to paint in ideological colors federal health initiatives that target minority populations.

Efforts to reach the underserved must transcend political divides, Pallone said, if only because of the fiscal obligations that can otherwise burden budgets and communities.

“I don′t care whether you′re a Democrat, I don′t care whether you′re a Republican, I don′t care what your religion is. The bottom line is, practically speaking, even if you don′t care about the individuals . . . and you look at it only from a resource point of view, it makes sense to try to provide as much coverage as possible,” Pallone said. “If you don′t, it′s just going to impact the rest of the community in terms of resources and allocations that make it more expensive.”

Martin Perez, the president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, called the Rx4NJ program one of the most important health-care initiatives in the state in the last few years. That more than one-third of Latinos under 65 lack health coverage makes it that much more urgent, he said.

“This is not a handout. This is an act of social responsibility from the industry that produces the drugs,” Perez said at the Chandler Center. “This is stressing realty, that they (Latinos) may have to choose paying their rent, putting food on their tables or being able to afford life-saving, life-enhancing prescriptions and medicines.”

But now that Rx4NJ is firmly in place, the Latino community must take advantage of the program, he said.

“Everyone who knows about this program needs to tell their neighbors about it,” he said in Spanish.

Rachel Benford, Chandler′s executive director, said that about 72 percent of the center′s patients are Latino. Given that the center′s mission is to serve low-income and medically indigent residents, it′s clear that Rx4NJ can benefit the Latino population, Benford said.

“If our patients cannot fill the prescriptions that we write for them or cut them in half, is it really providing them with comprehensive care?” she asked.

For more information about the program, log on to www.rx4nj.org or call 1-888-RXFORNJ toll free.