"Help is Here Express” Pulls into New Jersey

With New Jersey’s unemployment rate hovering around 8.3 percent, thousands of residents are facing the loss of health insurance. Many, however, may be eligible for patient assistance programs that help people without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need for free or nearly free.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) will be among more than two dozen organizations participating in "Working Towards a Healthy Neighborhood,” a community health fair sponsored by the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick and the Georges Road Gateway Project. The event will be held

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a free, nationwide service sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical companies that connects people in need to more than 475 patient assistance programs around the country, including about 200 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. Since its 2005 launch, the program has helped more than 234,000 people in New Jersey and some 5.7 million nationwide.

PPA will have its signature orange mobile enrollment center, the "Help is Here Express,” at the fair, where specialists will help visitors research assistance programs and apply on the spot using one of the wireless computers on the mobile enrollment center.

"At a time when national unemployment is the highest in almost two decades, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance has become an important lifeline for a growing number of patients,” said Billy Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which sponsors the PPA. "We want people in New Jersey and across the nation to know that help is available. No one is helped by a medicine that sits on the shelf and is out of reach financially.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose Georges Road facility straddles New Brunswick and North Brunswick, plays an active role in neighborhood health improvement and revitalization efforts. In addition to being one of the health fair’s major partners, the company supports the Georges Road Gateway Project Task Force, which is working to guide redevelopment efforts and improve the quality of life along the Georges Road corridor.

"The Partnership for Prescription Assistance works with doctors, pharmacists, health care providers and community groups to help patients with limited financial resources gain access to medicines that can extend and enhance their lives,” said Janet Loesberg, executive director of Medical Education, Grants and Assistance at Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Helping to ensure patients can obtain the medicines they need is an important part of our corporate mission to extend and enhance human life.”

Now in its third year, the annual health fair of the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick brings together the city’s leading health care organizations to provide residents with health screenings and information on topics including breast cancer, prostate cancer, hypertension, lead poisoning, bicycle safety, dental health and smoking cessation.

"I believe it’s vital to promote access to medications that can help people live healthier lives,” said C. Roy Epps, president and CEO of the Civic League. "At the same time, we must also help people in the community get access to information that can promote wellness and healthy choices.”

People who are unable to attend the New Brunswick health fair and wish to learn more about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance can visit PPA’s web site (www.pparx.org) or call its toll-free number (1-888-4PPA-NOW), where trained operators field calls in 150 languages.

About the Partnership for Prescription Assistance

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a nationwide effort sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies to raise awareness about patient assistance programs and the need to effectively address the rising and alarming rates of chronic disease in the United States.