News :: Packard Health

Ruby Hogue of Ypsilanti Township had heard about the "Help is Here Express," a bus that tours the country teaching the uninsured and struggling about programs that offer prescription medications for free or nearly nothing.

"I always envied it," said Hogue, 56. "I thought, 'Why can't we get that?'"

Just by chance, Hogue discovered the "Help is Here Express" parked outside the Packard Community Clinic in Ann Arbor when she arrived there Friday morning for an appointment.

Minutes later, she was walking away with a list of programs that will help pay for the medication not covered by her carrier, the Washtenaw Health Plan.

"I'm a little excited, just thinking about what I'll save, and the benefit to my health," said Hogue, who lost her private health insurance when she was laid off in 2004.

Sponsored by the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, the "Help is Here Express" is staffed by specialists who ask the patients a few questions, type the information into the system, and access information on more than 475 patient assistance programs - including nearly 200 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.

"Unfortunately, people sometimes make decisions between buying a prescription and paying a bill," said Sharon Moore, a Packard Community Clinic board member who became one of the clinic's first patients when it opened 35 years ago.

"This service is important to the community, where they can come and get help with a reduced or maybe free prescription," Moore said. "When you have a healthy body, healthy mind, you're better able to contribute to society, and you have overall well-being."

Since its launch in April 2005, the PPA bus tour has visited all 50 states and helped 5 million patients, including about 160,000 people in Michigan.

"I want the people in town to know this is not just a two-hour event," said Kim Kratz, the clinic's executive director. "We're going to have access to this information and continue to work with the PPA to provide ongoing medication assistance."

There's good news for those who missed the bus: The same help is available by going to www.pparx.org or calling 1-888-477-2669.

Deborah Gibson, who drove a fellow resident of the Miller Manor housing complex to the "Help is Here Express" Friday, intends to tell more people about the service.