Bus helping people with prescriptions

It was still dark this morning when Albertha Williams arrived at the Meeting Street Piggly Wiggly and waited for a bus that could help her pay for her prescription medicines.

The James Island woman said her Medicare plan has hit a gap in coverage, commonly known as a “doughnut hole,” leaving her unable to afford her prescriptions, including $300 a month for two inhalers.

“I wasn’t going to wait until the last minute to get here,” she said.

She arrived before 7 a.m. to make sure she would be on the large, orange Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) bus at 9 a.m. to get help. The PPA is funded through PhRMA, a collection of United States insurance companies. It runs two buses across the country to help match people with programs that can help them pay for their prescriptions.

The organization looks to help people with low incomes or who don’t have insurance, said Jeff Gilbert, spokesman.

“We will tell them in 10 to 15 minutes whether they’re pre-qualified,” he said.

It’s the fourth time a PPA bus has visited Charleston. Williams was off the bus about 15 minutes later, happy after hearing that a program would probably be able to help her with her prescriptions.

The bus will be in parked in front of the Piggly Wiggly until 11 a.m. After that it will move to the Walterboro city parking lot at 300 Hampton St. from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

If you missed the bus, Gilbert said people can get the same information by calling 1-888-4PPA-NOW or by visiting www.pparx.org. It’s best to know what the prescriptions are when contacting the organization, he said.

Reach Andy Paras at 937-5589 or aparas@postandcourier.com.