Free Prescriptions Offered to Indigent Patients

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. - The Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation will being a new patient assistance program, providing prescription medications to Americans who cannot afford them.

Officials say the program is designed to specifically help older Americans, and those suffering from the AIDS virus by virtue of the drugs manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.

"As a maker of life-saving medicines, we want to help patients who cannot afford their medicines," says foundation president Pamela S. DeMala. "We've developed a program to give those patients free medication, and to get the drugs into patients' hands quickly and efficiently.

To qualify, patients must lack prescription coverage under a private, government or employee insurance plan; be ineligible for prescription assistance through Medicaid; have an annual income equal to or lower than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, which would be $18,00 for a family of four; for those in need of HIV/AIDS drug Viramune, they must have an annual income equal or lower than $25,000; and they must be a citizen of the United States.

There are no co-payments or fees charged for participation and no membership cared will be required.

One-page applications are available at: 800-556-8317.

For more information, visit: http://us.boehringer-ingelheim.com