A prescription for caring N.J. congregation starts coalition to help people access medicine Mark Peters was 11 years old when his mother died of cancer. Her death, which happened on his birthday, left him with clear memories of her six-month struggle. As a teenager he began working at the local pharmacy, where he learned that the store had forgiven his family a debt of a couple thousand dollars for the cancer medicines his mother took.  Several decades later, Peters was a pharmacist employed by a pharmaceutical company. He knew the costs of prescription drugs could be a major burden to uninsured people or patients whose insurance plans lacked adequate coverage for their medications.“It was time for me to find a way to give back some of what was given to my family,” he said. So Peters went to his pastor, Mark Summer of Zion Lutheran Church, Oldwick, N.J., with a plan to link churches, health-care providers and other community organizations to help people find ways to obtain medicines that would preserve their life or allow them to function in spite of their illnesses. Summer knew about the need. “In every faith community,” he said, “pastors hear stories about people with unmet needs for medicines or prescription costs that are draining their reserves.” Coalition meets unmet needs The two men quickly formed a coalition that would eventually include more than 30 churches and community groups. In addition to more than a dozen churches, the coalition now includes health-care providers, departments of county government and area businesses. Their organization, the Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership, began operation two years ago. Since then it has provided more than $500,000 in medications to hundreds of people in need. The program taps into nearly 500 often little-known medical assistance programs sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and others. “The pharmaceutical industry is giving away about $4 billion in free medicines,” Peters said, “and we wanted to provide a clearinghouse that would help people gain access and handle the paperwork.”  Each faith group in the community was invited to find a person who could be an advocate for people needing help with their medications, Summer said. “We thought the best first contact would be someone they knew in their congregation,” he said. These people receive training so they can provide information on accessing prescription drug programs. Though Hunterdon County is generally affluent, 5 percent of its population, or approximately 6,000 people, don’t have medical insurance, Peters said. Some residents don’t know they are eligible for prescription aid, he added, because it’s not only people who are living at the federal poverty level who qualify for assistance through some prescription-aid programs. People who are 200 percent above the federal poverty level may qualify for aid as well. “There should be no one in Hunterdon County who pays full price for medicine,” Peters said. This year the organization is also reaching out to undocumented workers in the region. “These are the faces of poverty in America that are often hidden,” Summer said. Easing frustration Many patients, especially the elderly, can be frustrated by the paperwork needed to reapply for medical assistance or renew prescriptions, he added. Karen Kallens, a registered nurse who coordinates the program, sees this need firsthand as people come to her for help. “There are a lot of people with several complicated medical problems,” she said, “and they may be dealing with as many as six or eight different companies, so they get overwhelmed.” Kallens prepares the forms and gets the appropriate signatures from the physicians. She also does what primary care physicians can’t, namely follow each application and—if it’s improperly rejected—appeal the case. Being diligent in taking the correct doses of medicine is also a persistent problem, Peters said. So in addition to obtaining prescription drugs, the program helps patients understand how to take them properly. “Sometimes you have to stay on some pills for years before they have the proper effect,” he explained. “We track the deliveries, so we know when it’s time for a person to renew.” Today, two years after it began, the Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership has an office at the Hunterdon Medical Center and sophisticated computer software that can help match people with the assistance program that meets their needs. Volunteers like Peters have worked hard to spread the word about their efforts. During a recent fundraiser, Summer took the field at a local minor-league baseball game to explain the program, and advocates staffed an information booth at the ball park. The partnership is seeking corporate sponsors to further its efforts. Now the program is looking for ways to help provide emergency funding for people until their medicines arrive. “Dr. Peters came with an idea for a bite-sized ministry,” Summer said. “It was a unique concept. We may not solve the overall health-care crisis,” Peters said, “but we can do something if we start with the needs for medicines right here in our community.” |
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