Attorney General's News Release

February 19, 2008

Nixon announces $630,000 in technology grants to help local health organizations link low-income Missourians with free and reduced-cost prescription medicines

Springfield, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today announced $630,000 in grants to help local health organizations obtain the technology necessary to coordinate the prescription drug needs of hundreds of thousands of Missourians with dozens of free and reduced-cost drug programs offered by manufacturers. The grant money comes from a settlement Nixon reached on Feb. 14 with Caremark Rx LLC, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management (PBM) companies.

Nixon announced the grant program at a news conference at the Southside Senior Center in Springfield, where he was joined by representatives of area groups that serve health needs and senior citizens.

“Missouri has more than 700,000 uninsured citizens, and many thousands more who qualify for some insurance, but still have nearly an impossible time affording the prescription medicines they need,” Nixon said. “At the same time, there are nearly 200 free and reduced-cost drug programs offered by individual manufacturers for specific medications. But these programs can be hard to find, confusing to use, or not easily accessible to seniors or people with low income. The challenge is to have a single source of access to this information – a gateway to prescription drug benefits that are already available.

“With this $630,000, we are committed to helping the many local health organizations throughout Missouri obtain the hardware, software and training necessary so they can provide this gateway,” Nixon said. “They then will be able to quickly search drug manufacturers’ free and reduced-cost programs to find matches for patients’ needs.”

In the coming weeks, Nixon will work with local health organizations to determine the most efficient means to implement the necessary technology to coordinate the pharmaceutical needs of low-income Missourians with the free and reduced-cost programs already available from manufacturers and others. Software is already available to coordinate linking prescription drug patients with matching free or low-cost drug programs from manufacturers. Nixon said the grants would enable local health organizations to purchase one- or two-year licenses to use the software, as well as allow them to obtain any needed hardware or training.

Local health organizations wanting to apply for grants from Nixon’s Prescription Drug Access Technology Initiative should do so through the Attorney General’s Web site, ago.mo.gov, or should obtain a hard copy of the application by calling the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222. Applications must be submitted no later than March 21, 2008.

“The need is the same all across the state but, as with most health-care issues, the best possible solution may vary from region to region,” Nixon said. “We will be working closely with experts across the state to provide the technology to bridge the gaps between what Missourians need and what is already available. We are very excited by the results we’ve already seen: a regional project of this type in northeast Missouri generated more than $1 million in free and reduced-cost prescription drugs in just two years.”

Missouri was one of 29 states to reach a settlement with Caremark to resolve concerns about the company’s drug-switching program. Nixon and the other Attorneys General were concerned that Caremark engaged in deceptive business practices by encouraging doctors to switch patients to different brand name prescription drugs while representing that the patients and/or health plans would save money.

Caremark is paying nearly $38.5 million nationwide to the participating states to settle those claims. The settlement required the states to use $22 million of the settlement to benefit low-income, disabled or elderly consumers of prescription medications, to promote lower drug costs for their residents, to educate consumers concerning the cost differences among medications, or for similar purposes. Nixon said Missouri is using its share of that $22 million – nearly $630,000 – to fund the prescription drug benefit coordination program he announced today.

Missouri also will receive $300,000 to cover the costs of the state’s investigation, litigation and settlement. The settlement also requires Caremark to significantly change its business practices.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818