US: Pfizer to give free Lipitor, Viagra, other drugs for jobless people

[Naveed Yaseen]

TRENTON, NJ: Pfizer Inc is unveiling a new programme Thursday that will let people who have lost their jobs and health insurance keep taking some widely prescribed Pfizer medications — including Lipitor and Viagra — for free for up to a year. The world’s biggest drugmaker will provide more than 70 of its prescription drugs at no cost to unemployed, uninsured Americans, regardless of their prior income, who lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been on the Pfizer drug for three months or more. The announcement comes amid massive job losses caused by the recession and a campaign in Washington to rein in health care costs and extend coverage. The move could earn Pfizer some goodwill in that debate after long being a target of critics of drug industry prices and sales practices. The programme also likely will help keep those patients loyal to Pfizer brands. “Everybody knows now a neighbour, a relative who has lost their job and is losing their insurance. People are definitely hurting out there,” Dr Jorge Puente, Pfizer’s head of pharmaceuticals outside the US and Europe and a champion of the project, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “Our aim is to help people bridge this point.” Officials for New York-based Pfizer said they don’t know how much the programme will cost and haven’t put a cap on spending for it. Applicants will have to sign a statement that they are suffering financial hardship and provide a ‘pink slip’ or similar employer notice. Applications will be accepted through Dec 31, with medication provided for up to 12 months after approval — or until the person becomes insured again. Starting Thursday, patients can call a toll-free number, 866-706-2400, to sign up, and those whose drugs are not included in the program will be referred to other company aid programs. Starting July 1, patients can also apply through the Web site, http://www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com, which has information about the other Pfizer aid programmes. Pfizer and the rest of the drug industry is trying to have a voice in the debate over how to overhaul the US health care system, partly by joining in a pledge this week to help hold down inflation of health costs. ap

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