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Yale-New Haven Hospital
20 York Street
New Haven, CT
06510-3202
Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: April 12, 2007
Media contact: (203) 688-2488
Yale-New Haven offers prescription discount program for patients
NEW HAVEN – Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) now offers significant prescription discounts to help YNHH patients afford their prescription medications. The Yale-New Haven Prescription Assistance Program began in December 2006 for outpatients with little or no health insurance and no pharmacy benefits. The program has been expanded to all eligible patients – with or without health insurance or pharmacy benefits.
Eligible patients include those who are being discharged from YNHH and patients in the hospital’s emergency department or any hospital-based clinic. Those patients may take a prescription written by a YNHH provider to Medical Center Pharmacy at 50 York Street, and they will receive the discounted price automatically. The discounts also apply to some diabetes and asthma supplies and some over-the-counter medications (if prescribed by a YNHH provider for a YNHH patient).
The discount varies for each prescription, but the biggest discounts are for generic drugs – which, in some cases, are discounted up to 40-60 percent of the cost. Many generic prescriptions are available for a flat $5 fee.
To make the program accessible to more patients, Medical Center Pharmacy has expanded its hours (at the 50 York Street store only) so that it is now open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends. In addition, MCP has a drive-through window and also offers free delivery.
“Patients receive excellent care at the hospital, but may leave with prescriptions in hand that they are unable to fill because they cannot afford to pay for them,” said Marna Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital. “This prescription assistance program will help many of our patients get the medicines they need.”
YNHH qualifies for special federal pharmaceutical pricing discounts because it treats a disproportionately large share of uninsured and underinsured patients. This is the result of the federal prescription pricing legislation referred to as “340B,” administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’ve heard from community providers that many patients sometimes only complete a few days of their prescription therapy because of the cost,” said James Rawlings, executive director of community health at YNHH. “Many patients end up in the emergency room and the hospital because they cannot afford the medication that can help them stay healthy.”
“To our knowledge, YNHH is the only hospital in the state that has extended this benefit directly to patients,” added Rawlings.
In addition to the new Prescription Assistance Program, Yale-New Haven Hospital has one of the most generous financial assistance programs in the nation, last year providing $121 million for the care of the poor and uninsured. In addition, YNHH is a major supporter of initiatives and programs that impact economic development, education, housing, jobs, public health and other issues that affect people in the city of New Haven and the region.
Medical Center Pharmacy, a five-store pharmacy chain serving the greater New Haven Community since 1985, accepts most types of pharmacy insurance coverage and offers free next day delivery in New Haven, as well as free shipping outside New Haven. The Yale New Haven Prescription Assistance Program is only provided at the 50 York Street location.
Yale-New Haven Hospital is a 944-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. Yale-New Haven was founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826 and today, the hospital complex includes Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, with a combined medical staff of about 2,400 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. See www.ynhh.org for additional information.
Return to: News Release Index
Last revised: April 12, 2007 (dh)
