THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 24, 1995 TAG: 9507240051
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
A nonprofit group announced the launch of a mail-order prescription drug service Sunday to provide medicines for people with HIV and AIDS at discount prices and with complete confidentiality.
William J. Freeman, executive director of the National Association of People with AIDS, said the new MedExpress service will provide drugs, vitamins and nutrients at 25 percent to 30 percent less than the prices charged by commercial mail-order pharmacies.
It will also automatically enroll customers in the advocacy group and provide information on living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. More than 1 million Americans are infected by the deadly virus.
Customers can call a toll-free number to place orders, and the medicine will be delivered in 24 to 48 hours by Airborne Express from a pharmacy firm outside Pittsburgh that NAPWA has contracted with.
The shipments come in secure packaging that gives no indication that they contain drugs for people with HIV or AIDS, a MedExpress brochure says.
``People with HIV and AIDS need to get their vital medications at fair prices, wherever they live and without worrying about privacy,'' said Jim Graham, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington. MedExpress will fill those needs, he added.
Dr. Eric Goosby, director of HIV-AIDS policy for the U.S. Public Health Service, praised the MedExpress concept, saying, ``The idea of a mail-order pharmaceutical capability for the HIV community has been longstanding and poorly addressed.''
Some AIDS patients take more than a dozen drugs a day; that can cost thousands of dollars each month.
By getting their medicines at a discount, people with private insurance can stretch out their lifetime medical benefits.
At least three commercial firms also target people with HIV for mail order sales, but MedExpress can undercut their prices because it's not trying to make a profit, Freeman said.
Many AIDS patients wind up on Medicaid, the government health program for the needy. MedExpress will handle both private and public insurance claims. ILLUSTRATION: WHERE TO CALL
The toll-free number
for MedExpress is 1-800-808-8060.
KEYWORDS: AIDS MEDICATION by CNB