Even with the Affordable Care Ace, MedBank still needed [The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.]

Nov. 10--Dalton resident Evie Dorlon has been a MedBank client for six years, obtaining several drugs for a number of chronic conditions. All of them are provided free by the various companies that make them.

Before that, she relied on her daughter to help pay for all the medicines, which were quite expensive.

"It has been a big relief to us to have MedBank," Dorlon said.

Each month, MedBank passes out hundreds of thousands of dollars in free or reduced-price prescription drugs. Over the past decade, the Dalton-based agency has helped thousands of area residents obtain almost $36 million in medicine. MedBank is a program of the Whitfield County Health Department.

MedBank director Susan Relaford said demand for the agency's service is as great as it has ever been, and she doesn't expect it to slack off even after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's requirement that all Americans have health insurance including prescription drug coverage kicks in next year.

"There's always going to be a need. There's always going to be someone with no coverage or inadequate coverage," she said.

MedBank currently serves about 600 clients. It charges a $15 a month fee. That's the only charge to clients, no matter how many drugs they need.

MedBank helps people who lack prescription drug coverage and who fall below a certain income level get access to prescription drugs. The drugs are provided free by drug companies under their prescription assistance programs, but many people are unaware of those programs or may not be able to work their way through the paperwork.

MedBank helps county residents complete those forms and dispense the drugs.

"Each of the companies has its own criteria for these programs," Relaford said.

MedBank doesn't order narcotics or painkillers. Nor does it order antibiotics or medical supplies.

"We help people obtain medicine to manage long-term chronic illnesses such as diabetes or high blood pressure. If you have a sinus infection or bronchitis or something like that and can't afford medicine, there are other organizations that can help with that," she said.

MedBank also helps mental health patients obtain drugs they can't afford.

Most MedBank patients are referred by the doctors who write their prescriptions.

"But I have all sorts of agencies referring clients to us. The Social Security office has sent clients to us. DFCS (the Department of Family and Children Services) sends people to us," she said.

Dr. Therese Maxwell volunteers at Dalton'sDEO Clinic, which provides free health care to those in need.

"The people we see don't have health coverage. We can prescribe medicine for them, but it doesn't do them any good if they can't afford to buy it," Maxwell said. "Even if they know drug companies have these programs they might be eligible for, most of them don't have computers to get on and download and fill out the forms."

Dalton resident Thomas Ballew has been a MedBank client for a little over a year.

"The medicine I'm on is really expensive. My doctor was able to give me samples that lasted me until I was able to get on MedBank," Ballew said. "There was no way I would be able to pay for that medicine. It has been a real blessing."

MedBank started in 2003 as a program of the Northwest Georgia Healthcare Partnership, based on a similar program in Savannah. After the grant that funded it ran out a couple of years later, the health department took over the program.

Even people who have prescription drug coverage may qualify for help. For instance, people who have Medicare Part D, might qualify for help when they are in the "doughnut hole" where their drugs are covered might qualify for help. Or if patients can't afford the co-pays their coverage requires for drugs, they might qualify for help.

Drug companies ship the drugs, usually a 90-day supply, directly to MedBank. Then a volunteer group of pharmacists prepares the packages for patients to pick up.

"We check the medicines to make sure they match what is in the patient's file. We make sure they are labeled properly and that everything is what it should be," said Bruce Broadrick, a pharmacist and member of the Whitfield County Board of Health.

"Randall Maret was the first pharmacist to get involved in this, and he was key to getting this going," Broadrick said. "And he deserves a lot of credit. This is a really important program, and we are very fortunate to have it."

To contact MedBank, call (706) 281-2363.

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