Guest Author - Gary King

Most people may already know that Pfizer discontinued their drug discount program for seniors, but in case they missed it, here are the facts:

Pfizer ended its prescription drug discount program (in September) targeted at seniors, called the Living Shard Card, despite consumer advocates' requests for it to maintain the program until the Medicare prescription drug benefits are implemented in 2006, the New York Times reported.

Pfizer ended its discount card program to focus on directing senior consumers to the new Medicare cards, Forest Harper, vice president of the Living Share Card Program, said.

Pfizer, as well as other drug makers, recently began negotiating contracts with health plans and other Medicare discount card sponsors to incorporate the company's low-income program into the new card programs, he added. Pfizer officials said that for months, they have been warning the program's 536,000 cardholders that the drug card, which was introduced two years ago, would be discontinued Aug. 31. Harper said Pfizer has also conducted "huge programs" to inform seniors about the new Medicare discount drug cards, which became available in June, and how to obtain them.

Harper also noted that Pfizer recently began a new discount drug program to provide prescription drug assistance to uninsured people of all ages (Freudenheim, New York Times, 9/1).

In August, Pfizer began enrolling uninsured U.S. residents in the program, which offers income-contingent discounts of 15% to 37% on drugs manufactured by the company. Low-income Medicare beneficiaries who have exhausted a $600 subsidy available under the new prescription drug discount card program qualify to pay a flat fee of $15 per perscription (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/19).

The Living Share Card is the first of the drug discount programs sponsored by drug makers to be discontinued; similar cards from GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Merck are still available, or were at when I last checked.

Robert Hayes, president of hte Medicare Rights Center, said that "a lot of people will be left high and dry" with the termination of Pfizer's discount card program, partly because some seniors who signed up for the Medicare discount program might have assumed they could continue using the Living Share Card.

Hayes added that Pfizer's new drug discount program for the uninsured offers fewer discounts to seniors who are not in the lowest income level. CMS Administrator Mark McClellan decline to comment specifically on the discontinuation of Living Share Card, but he urged all drug makers to "continue their existing programs" (New York Times, 9/1).