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LOCAL
NEWS
Beware
03-24-2005
Senior citizens and those on low incomes have an on-going struggle to pay for medications - sometimes having to decide between eating, paying utility bills or getting the proper medicines they need.
And while the government has come out with a prescription drug card there are probably hundreds more offered up by drug companies and various groups.
On top of all this confusion there are privately run businesses popping up across the country and on the Internet offering help – for a price.
Many major pharmaceutical firms offer free or reduced price medications to those qualifying.
And while any consumer can obtain the necessary information concerning these programs from their doctor, health care provider or drug manufacturer, many are not aware, do not have the time or do not want to go through the paperwork .
And that’s where good ole American enterprise kicks in!
Companies are popping up throughout the nation offering to do the paperwork for a price. Some businesses have walk-ins much like a doctors offices where consumers may bring their prescriptions in, sign the proper forms, pay a fee and in a few days receive their medications – usually for free except the “finders fee” they paid. Same goes for the Internet where you go to a secure site, fill out a questionaire, agree to their fee and submit a credit card number. Some firms even use the mails and ask for money – check, money order or credit card number.
The problem is, such programs are open to fraud and scams. The businesses are not doing anything illegal, they are simply providing a service, but consumers need to be wary.
Heflin resident Billy Hicks is one of those consumers who must take a sizeable amount of medication and while he was interested in a mailing he received from MyFreeMedicine.com he decided not to go with the program.
First off, the material he received came in a yellow envelope bearing his name and address with the imprint “Here is the information you requested.” Hicks knew he had not requested any information.
The material came from MyFreeMedicine.com which lists G. Julian Hasler, B.A. (Syd. Univ.) as “Founder” and gives a mailing address of “National Processing Office, PO Box 99489, Louisville, KY 40269-0489.
The enclosed material says Hicks could join the free medicine program for $199.95 for six months or $399.90 per year. Medications (3-6 months supply at a time) would be mailed to Hicks, his doctor or to a local pharmacy.
Hicks, who is 70 and on 10 different medications spends about $4,800 per year for his medicine. Spending $400 to get $4,400 worth of medicines sounds like a good deal but is it?
MyFreeMedicine.com also has a website of the same name which is registered to Geoff Hasler of Santa Barbara, CA.
An Internet search of Geoff Hasler indicated that the U.S. government had indicted a Geoff Hasler for a scheme that bilked mostly elderly consumers of some $1 million between 1995 and 1997.
The Cleburne News wanted to know if Hasler was one and the same individual or someone totally different so we contacted the Better Business Bureau.
BBB Vice-President of Program Development for the BBB Education Foundation Bethany Weston said she would not touch the offering “with a 10-foot pole” and while she could not confirm whether both Hasler’s were the same man she recommended staying away from the mailing and the web site.
Weston said many seniors don’t realize that if a program sounds too good to be true, then it probably is and she also warned that some programs may jeopardize Medicare-Medicaid benefits. She said those seeking better medicine prices should discuss with their doctor the use of generics and also ask if their doctor can provide them or assist them with the necessary paperwork to participate in the free or almost free programs offered by the many pharmaceutical companies.
“Otherwise,” she added, “you may get a pig in a poke.”
Weston did note that what some free medication programs offer is not illegal but they may be unethical and seniors should be very careful.
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About Wayne Ruple
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Cleburne News editor Wayne Ruple is a native of Ashville. Before coming to Heflin, he worked for three years as a computer systems manager in Birmingham. Ruple has worked for The Sand Mountain Reporter in Albertville, and was the editor of The Independent in Robertsdale. He has also worked for the Shades Valley Sun, the St. Clair News-Aegis and The Daily Home in Talladega.
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Contact Wayne Ruple
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