In a major expansion of its commitment to improving health and access to healthcare for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, Pfizer Inc announced its Share Card will become part of a coalition of leading healthcare organizations to participate in a Medicare-approved drug discount card.
This coalition will offer Medicare beneficiaries immediate assistance in obtaining prescription medicines through the Medicare-approved drug discount card program made available through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS"). UnitedHealth Group will sponsor and manage the new coalition's drug discount card.
This new card program, known as the U Share Prescription Drug Discount Card ("U Share Card"), will integrate the expertise and pharmacy network access of UnitedHealth Group with the prescription drug savings model of the Pfizer for Living Share CardTM, as well as prescription drug savings available through other participating pharmaceutical companies and retail pharmacies. The result is the creation of a single card that could provide one of the most comprehensive drug discount card programs currently approved by CMS.
"We are pleased to be working with UnitedHealth Group, the nation's leading health and well-being company, to provide meaningful and innovative prescription drug savings to Medicare beneficiaries in need of assistance," said Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer Hank McKinnell. "Our experience with the Pfizer for Living Share CardTM has shown us that choice, convenience, and simplicity are key attributes of an effective drug benefit card for Medicare beneficiaries."
The Pfizer Share Card program, launched in January 2002, provides qualified low-income Medicare beneficiaries with access to up to a 30-day supply of any Pfizer prescription medicine for a flat fee of $15 per prescription. To date, over half a million seniors have enrolled in the program and have filled nearly five million prescriptions.
The U Share Card will offer significant savings to all eligible Medicare beneficiaries, but will provide much greater assistance for low-income beneficiaries. All beneficiaries enrolled in this new drug discount card, regardless of their income, will receive a discount on all branded and generic prescription drugs included in the new Medicare-approved drug discount card program. There is no formulary.
The interim Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card program is the first phase in the implementation of an outpatient drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. This program is part of the Medicare Modernization Act passed by Congress late last year, which will result in a government-funded prescription drug benefit for all 40 million Medicare beneficiaries in 2006.
"The U Share Prescription Drug Discount Card is designed to pool resources, insights, and capabilities to offer outstanding savings for Medicare beneficiaries and contribute to the success of the Medicare-approved drug discount card program" said Pat Kelly, president, Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals. "Through this collaboration we will provide Medicare beneficiaries with a new and broader discount card program. We invite companies or organizations committed to quality healthcare delivery to join the U Share coalition and help us make a difference for Medicare beneficiaries now."
The U Share Card envisions a broad coalition of companies aligned around the common goals of providing Medicare beneficiaries with access to prescription drugs and preserving the integrity of the patient-physician and patient-pharmacist relationships that are at the heart of the U.S. healthcare delivery system.
"Our members provide home health care to nearly 4 million people per year, many of whom are low-income Medicare beneficiaries with no prescription drug coverage. We have seen first-hand how pharmaceutical assistance programs can make a meaningful difference in our patients' quality of life," said Carolyn Markey, president and chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurses Association of America. "We will work hard to educate and enroll our patients into Medicare-approved drug discount cards like the U Share Prescription Drug Discount Card."
CMS announced its approval of the U Share Card on March 25, 2004. The U Share Card will be available to eligible Medicare beneficiaries across the country in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Enrollment will begin in May, with discounts and savings available in June.