A prescription medicine assistance program offered by Pfizer will help many unemployed Americans continue receiving their prescription medicines when beginning on July 1.
MAINTAIN helps newly unemployed Americans without prescription coverage and in financial need continue to get their Pfizer medicine free of charge for up to 12 months or until they become insured, whichever comes first. People enrolled in the Pfizer MAINTAIN program can get access to more than 70 medicines that treat a range of chronic health conditions.
“Missouri is the Show-Me State, and that’s an apt plea in the face of a recession leaving thousands of Missourians out of work. As a Pfizer colleague, I’m proud to see us take up that challenge with the MAINTAIN program, which can help unemployed patients in need continue to get their Pfizer medicines. That’s Show-Me¹ in action,” said Don Frail, site leader for Pfizer Global R&D in St. Louis.
Pfizer currently has more than 1,000 scientists conducting drug discovery research in Missouri, focusing on inflammation and immunology, biotherapeutics, and new indications for existing compounds. Pfizer maintains a research campus in Chesterfield, near St. Louis, and recently unveiled a new, $200 million laboratory facility there.
Frail said the inspiration for MAINTAIN came from Pfizer employees who were witnessing friends, family and neighbors struggle to make ends meet after losing their jobs.
MAINTAIN is part of the company’s Helpful Answers program – a family of patient assistance programs that helps uninsured and underinsured Americans get Pfizer medicines for free or at a savings. Pfizer said in 2008 more than 21,100 Missouri patients received $17.5 million worth of prescriptions for free or at a discount through Pfizer Helpful Answers.
To be eligible for MAINTAIN, applicants must be able to demonstrate loss of employment since Jan. 1, 2009; lack prescription coverage; attest to financial hardship; and be on Pfizer medicine for at least three months prior to unemployment and enrolling in the program. For more information, to enroll, or to find out if you qualify for this or other assistance programs, contact Pfizer Helpful Answers at 866-706-2400 or www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com.