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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 461
Commending Virginia's Rx Partnership and its partners for service to the Commonwealth through its innovative and successful provision of free medications for Virginia's uninsured citizens.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 29, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2008

 

WHEREAS, more than one million Virginians are uninsured and have little or no access to health care or to prescription medications; and

WHEREAS, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Joint Commission on Health Care helped initiate Rx Partnership in 2003 as a public/private partnership to increase access to prescription medications for Virginia’s eligible uninsured; and

WHEREAS, Rx Partnership is a free-standing, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that serves as a broker to solicit free prescription medications from pharmaceutical companies and arranges for their distribution to affiliate free clinics and community health centers with licensed pharmacies, which it credentials, monitors, and audits; and

WHEREAS, in communities in which no community-based clinic with a licensed pharmacy exists or in which one central pharmacy can more effectively serve multiple clinics, Rx Partnership has fostered and assisted in the development of several central-fill pharmacy programs; and

WHEREAS, the Rx Partnership’s model is an innovative, efficient, and cost-effective process for providing vital prescription medication quickly to patients in need; and

WHEREAS, during the past three years, Rx Partnership has helped fill more than 75,000 prescriptions and has helped more than 14,000 eligible, uninsured, and chronically ill patients at 20 affiliate free clinics and community health centers; and

WHEREAS, 54 medications in 165 dosage strengths with an estimated retail value in excess of $15 million have been generously donated by Rx Partnership’s four current manufacturing partners: GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Abbott; and

WHEREAS, the Rx Partnership model is a unique approach to prescription medication assistance and was nationally recognized in 2007 with a Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation as an outstanding example of a program that has made a difference in the lives of the people it serves; was instrumental in requesting and receiving a landmark ruling from the Office of the Inspector General in early 2008 that will help more uninsured Virginians receive free medications; and has been called “the gold standard” by a representative of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; and

WHEREAS, the Rx Partnership provides a tremendous return on the Commonwealth’s investment and has leveraged a cumulative $50 for every $1 match of state funds; and

WHEREAS, many of Virginia’s finest corporations and organizations have made financial commitments to Rx Partnership during fiscal year 2007, including Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Bedford Community Health Foundation, Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Campbell-Hoffman Foundation, Carilion Foundation, Centra Health Foundation, The Jenkins Foundation, Mary Washington Hospital Foundation, Medical Society of Virginia Foundation, Medical Society of Virginia, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Riverside Health System Foundation, Sentara Health Foundation, Sheltering Arms Fund of the Community Foundation, Virginia Community Healthcare Association, Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, and the Virginia Health Care Foundation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Rx Partnership and its partners on their outstanding service to the Commonwealth and their successful efforts to increase access to free prescription medications for Virginia’s uninsured citizens; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That Rx Partnership’s manufacturing partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Abbott, be recognized for their visionary leadership and support, many contributions, and generous donations of free prescription medications to this innovative public/private partnership; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to Rx Partnership and its partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Abbott, as an expression of the admiration and support of the General Assembly.