Attorney General pharmacy grants could bolster Lynn health center

LYNN – Lawsuit settlement dollars obtained by the state attorney general could soon be doled out as grants to non-profit community health centers like the one in Lynn to help the needy pay for prescription drugs.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said Thursday that up to 15 grants will be awarded, providing up to $50,000 per year for two years to qualified organizations that present a prescription drug plan to benefit low-income and underinsured clients.
The grants stem from a series of multi-state settlements with pharmaceutical companies that authorized Coakley’s office to direct the settlement proceeds to benefit low-income, disabled or elderly consumers of prescription medications.
“We could certainly benefit from these grants,” said Lori Berry, executive director of the Lynn Community Health Center, which opened in 1971. “It’s a great idea and we will be applying.”
According to Berry, the Lynn facility would likely prove a good fit because of its 340B non-profit status and, perhaps more importantly, the fact that is provides healthcare services to one in three people in the city.
“During calendar year 2007, we saw 28,500 patients, all of them low-income,” said Berry. “That’s 28,500 different people, not just total number of visits.”
The local health center registered 165,000 visits last year from those seeking medical and dental care, mental health services, or assistance at one of the organization’s six school-based clinics at Lynn Vocational & Technical School, English High School, Classical High School, Breed Middle School, Marshall Middle School and Ingalls Elementary School.
“The numbers mean that one in three people in Lynn use the health center in some form,” said Berry. “Some people use it just for dental, others for mental health, and still others for everything including primary care.”
The Lynn health center collaborates with Eaton Pharmacy to ensure its patients receive discounts on prescription medication.
“The high cost of prescription drugs is prohibitive for many families and individuals in Massachusetts,” said Coakley, adding that the new program is designed to provide wider access to prescription drug medications to populations where private or public financial assistance is unavailable. “Providing wider access to prescription medications is one more way to contain health care costs for all.”
Coakley spokesperson Jill Butterworth said applications are currently being accepted.
Applicants must be either a community health center with a 340B pharmacy that is qualified by the state Department of Public Health to provide services, or a program that uses volunteer clinicians to provide free or significantly discounted services to low-income uninsured individuals in Massachusetts, she said.
According to Butterworth, successful proposals will target the uninsured, individuals who face gaps in coverage due to Mass Health and Community Care enrollment policies; those not covered by the Health Safety net; low-income individuals who are unable to afford drug co-payments; or any of these qualifying groups or individuals who have chronic illnesses.
The grants must be used to ensure thatthe most vulnerable residents secure access to pharmaceutical therapies that can prevent unnecessary and costly interventions and hospitalizations, Butterworth said.
Interested applicants can visit the Attorney General’s Web site at www.mass.gov/ago/grants to obtain application forms and additional information. The application deadline is Jan. 7. Grants will be awarded on or around Feb. 11, 2009 and must be used by March 2, 2011.