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C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 5 C alifornia's pharmaceutical com- panies, under pressure to increase consumer access to prescription drugs, have come up with the next best thing: a public relations campaign. In March, the Pharmaceutical Re- search and Manufactures Association of America (PhRMA) teamed up with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to launch "Rx Help for Californians," a free website and resource designed to help people enroll in voluntary pre- scription discount programs. As an RN, you may have seen the mailings they sent out to advertise their serv- ices, or been asked about it by a pa- tient. The clearinghouse is paid for by PhRMA and endorsed by a variety of organizations, including the Califor- nia Hospital Association and the Cal- ifornia Health Facilities Association. While the service does point patients to some information about programs such as Medi-Cal, the drug discounts come from signing up directly with the pharmaceutical com- panies. The catch? The drug compa- nies get access to a variety of personal information about patients—including age, gross household income, citizen- ship status, and prescriptions. Since the discounts are given directly by the companies, requirements vary based on the plan, but the Oakland Tribune reported in March that patients en- rolling, for example, in Pfizer's Con- nection to Care Patient Assistance Program can have a total family in- come of no more that $31,000. Or- ganizers stated when the service launched that they could help up to six million Californians, but say they have enrolled 27,000 in a statement re- leased on May 25. Rx Help for Californians is one component of Governor Schwarze- negger's controversial "California Rx" plan. In January, Schwarzenegger ve- toed a bill that would have allowed Cal- ifornia patients to buy cheaper Canadian discount drugs. Two things happened almost immediately: drug companies poured hundreds of thou- sands of dollars into the campaign ac- counts of Schwarzenegger and his allies, and Schwarzenegger announced his California Rx initiative, which encourages drug companies to offer voluntary discounts to low-income patients. Schwarzenegger couldn't get the Legislature to agree to his plans and was forced to place it as an initiative on the next statewide ballot, which will be a special election on Nov. 8. Various media have reported that PhRMA will spend up to $100 million to ensure that this measure and Schwarzenegger's other proposals pass. The upshot? Real prescription drug reform remains unavailable for Californians. Stay tuned for a mis- leading campaign television commer- cial near you. —Shum Preston Thanks for Nothing R x Help Group is Just Pharma PR W orking Assets is the one phone company that speaks out for nurses and many im- portant issues like choice, peace, equality, a better education, and a cleaner environment. That's because Working Assets donates one percent of its customers' phone charges to pro- gressive organizations, at no extra cost. Since 1985, Working Assets members have helped raise over $47 million. Plus the company gives its customers easy ways to speak out to targeted leaders on crucial issues in California and the nation. In fact, customers sent 3,531 letters to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in April, urging him to revoke his rollback of safe nurse-to- patient ratios. To learn more, go to WorkingAssets.com. Working Assets Supports RNs