Pfizer is offering free drugs, including Viagra and Lipitor, for those who have recently lost their jobs.
Pfizer is offering as much as a year of free medicine, such as the Lipitor cholesterol pill and Viagra for sexual dysfunction, to Americans who lost jobs and health insurance.
The program covers more than 70 medicines for people who can demonstrate unemployment since Jan. 1, have no drug insurance and were taking a Pfizer product for at least three months before the job loss, the New York-based drug maker said Thursday in a statement.
Jorge Puente, regional president for worldwide pharmaceuticals, suggested the program a month ago to help the 46 million Americans without health insurance, Pfizer said.
The number of people collecting unemployment insurance was 6.56 million last week and the jobless rate has climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since 1983, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
''The current economic environment has added considerable new stress to the daily life of millions of hard-working Americans, and our colleagues are responding to help their neighbors in the communities where they reside,'' said Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler.
``We are doing what we can to ensure that recent loss of employment does not preclude people from managing their health.''
A Pfizer spokesman, Ray Kerins, declined to say how much the program would cost Pfizer or how many people may be eligible.
Under pressure from politicians demanding lower healthcare costs, many major pharmaceutical companies have been responding. Many have developed Patients Assistance Programs to help those who can't afford medications.
TogetherRX Access is a discount card from the industry for those without insurance who meet certain income criteria.
The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club offers major discounts for the uninsured after purchasing a card that costs $20 annually.
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