Message In A Bottle

ROCKY HILL — As part of National Arthritis Action Day, the Arthritis Foundation is asking people with arthritis to send empty prescription bottles and letters about their experiences with access to new arthritis medications. The local foundation needs to receive bottles and messages by April 30, for delivery to Congress on May 18, Arthritis Action Day.

The Arthritis Foundation is sponsoring the “Message in a Bottle” campaign to seek support from Congress for legislation to make prescription benefits more widely available to Medicare beneficiaries, especially those with lower incomes. According to the foundation, approximately 35 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug coverage and many others have limited coverage.

The foundation reports receiving an increase in volume of calls from many beneficiaries, especially those with lower incomes. They are reporting more problems with getting access to and paying for new medications. The foundation attributes the increased access problems to nine new arthritis approved drugs in the last three years, some with higher price tags.

Send empty prescription bottles and messages to: Arthritis Foundation, Southern New England Chapter, 35 Cold Spring Road, Suite 411, Rocky Hill, CT 06067. For more information, call the foundation at 800/541-8350 or visit our Web site at www.arthritis.org.