First Regular Session Sixty-fifth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. R05-0963.01 Jerry Barry HJR05-1049 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Riesberg, Balmer, Benefield, Boyd, Cadman, Clapp, Cloer, Coleman, Frangas, Green, Hefley, Hodge, Jahn, King, Knoedler, Lindstrom, Liston, Lundberg, Paccione, Rose, Stafford, Stengel, Todd, Weissmann, White, and Witwer SENATE SPONSORSHIP Owen, Groff, Hanna, Hillman, Johnson, Keller, Lamborn, McElhany, Tapia, Teck, and Williams House Committees Senate Committees HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 05-1049 Concerning commending the Together Rx Access program. WHEREAS, The number of Colorado residents who lack health insurance is staggering, with more than 740,000 people statewide among the ranks of the uninsured, totaling 18% of the state's population; and WHEREAS, Nearly 15% of Colorado's children, as well as more than a quarter of the state's low-income children, are uninsured and, therefore, have limited access to proper health care; and WHEREAS, Colorado residents of all ages deserve access to the medications they need to help them take care of their health; and WHEREAS, The Together Rx Access Card was launched in January 2005 by 10 leading pharmaceutical companies to help low-income people who lack health insurance gain access to the broadest range of brand-name and generic prescription medicines and products at meaningful savings; and WHEREAS, This free, easy-to-use card provides a significant safety net for hard-working Colorado families and individuals in need of medicines by allowing cardholders to save approximately 25 to 40%, and sometimes more; and WHEREAS, The pharmaceutical companies offering the Together Rx Access Card Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline, members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, Novartis, Pfizer, sanofi-aventis Group, Takeda and TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. also offer patient assistance programs; and WHEREAS, These companies automatically notify people who apply for the Together Rx Access Card if they may be eligible for further savings and, in some cases, free medicines through these patient assistance programs; and WHEREAS, Greater awareness of the Together Rx Access Card in local districts will facilitate enrollment in the program and better serve the needs of hundreds of thousands of low-income, uninsured individuals and families who lack health insurance in Colorado; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-fifth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein: (1) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, commend the Together Rx Access Card and the ten companies that have joined together in this initiative for their efforts to help Colorado residents who lack public or private prescription drug coverage gain better access to prescription products. (2) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, encourage the private sector to work with the General Assembly and other public sector entities to educate their constituents about the availability of the Together Rx Access Card and facilitate enrollment by distributing enrollment materials and holding enrollment events in local districts. (3) That, as part of this education, constituents should be told they can learn more and apply for the Card by calling 1-800-444-4106 (toll free) or visiting www.TogetherRxAccess.com on the internet. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the Together Rx Access Card companies Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline, members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, Novartis, Pfizer, sanofi-aventis Group, Takeda, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.