Buy food or buy medicine? That’s the choice that far too many uninsured individuals face every day, but our friends at NC MedAssist – a statewide non-profit pharmacy providing FREE prescription medicines to low-income, uninsured North Carolinians – are here to solve the dilemma. Below, is a message from one of their representatives:
“There are more than 1.1 million low-income, uninsured people in our state and more than three-quarters of them are in working families, according to the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. National numbers show that almost half of the uninsured have at least one chronic illness –that’s where NC MedAssist comes in.
We are able to provide free prescription medicines to those in need by partnering with free clinics, health departments and hospitals across the state. And we can serve clients directly by providing mail order service to their homes. Our goal is to supply essential medicines to every one of our neighbors in need and to improve the health of North Carolina one prescription at a time.
Our average client takes medicines with a retail cost of almost $600 a month – that represents at least one-third of an individual client’s income. In order to qualify for our program, clients must be uninsured and earn less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level – that’s $21,780 a year for an individual and $44,700 for a family of four.
Since expanding statewide in 2009, NC MedAssist has filled more than 106,000 prescriptions valued at more than $9.1 million for more than 30,000 North Carolinians.
People like Mike T. of Rowan County. ‘I sat down and cried when I found out I could get my medicines from MedAssist. It was such a weight off my shoulders that I wasn’t going to have to choose any more between heat or food or medicine. Now I can sleep at night. I feel so much better, physically and mentally. I tell everyone I meet about MedAssist. If you know someone who needs medicine, please tell them about MedAssist. If you’re in a position to give, please help support it.’
We know there are many North Carolinians out there who need our help but who don’t know that we’re here for them. If you’d like to have a member of MedAssist’s staff come speak to your congregation, or if you’d like MedAssist to hold an enrollment event in your community, please contact Gena Renfrow at gena@reach-comm.com or 919-815-5550.”
– Willona Stallings, PHW Program Coordinator
