Lose Your Job, Keep Your Drugs
According to Judith Graham at the Chicago Tribune's Triage blog, Pfizer has created a new program to allow the unemployed--and thus uninsured--to keep access to their prescription drugs for one year.
The cynics will say, of course, that the program is designed to keep brand loyalty for patients while they are out of work, off the insurance rolls, and struggling to make ends meet. The slightly less cynical view is that it is good PR for a company that is still raking in billions and can afford to give a way a few Lipitor prescriptions.
But, in my view, the reality is that this is probably the very best time for Pfizer to give away prescriptions for Lipitor and Viagra and a wide array of other drugs and it will come at probably very little cost to them. Although in the past, very few Americans took advantage of COBRA plans offered through their employer, now they are subsidized heavily through President Obama's stimulus package for the next 9 months. This is likely to mean that a significant number of severed employees will have health insurance. Those without COBRA benefits or who could not even afford the subsidized benefits should get free drugs from Pfizer. Other pharmas should follow suit as well.
But whether or not Obama's stimulus subsidized COBRA is why they chose now to start this program really isn't the issue. Whatever Pfizer's motives or however many people actually participate the good that is done is what matters--people in need get the drugs that they need. That is what is important.
Summer Johnson, PhD
contribute a comment
Your contributions to the conversation are very much appreciated. We do have a few simple guidelines, though. Be civil. Stay on topic. We reserve the right to remove comments that violate the aforementioned guidelines. One more thing: comments are moderated, so it may take a little while for your comment to be posted. Thanks.
comments
It(He,She) is lamentable these things, because a time ago behind wise that the medical services were a problem for many persons and up to the moment they neither find they do not even give any solution, apparently the government forgot what promised and it is now where it is that to there be remembered(reminded), before that is very late, the medical assurance is important for many people, like that they indicate it in findrxonline, the web page that delivers a lot of information about this debate.
- by Howard on May 18, 2009 at 11:50 AM | link