Critics Say 'My Free Medicine' Comes at a Price

June 6, 2006— -- As if the 45 million Americans without health insurance don't have enough trouble, many of them may be prime targets for what some critics describe as a free medicine scam.

In its ads, a company called My Free Medicine claims it can help people get medications like Advair, Glaxo SmithKline's asthma drug, at no cost.

My Free Medicine is not affiliated with any drug company, though, and it's not a patient-assistance program. Patient-assistance programs are established by drug companies to provide those who qualify with free medicine. The Louisville, Ky.-based company also doesn't directly provide any medicine, free or otherwise.

"This one squarely fits my definition of a scam," said Charlie Mattingly, president of the Louisville Better Business Bureau.

My Free Medicine claims that for a fee -- $200 every six months -- it helps people take part in drug companies' free medicine programs, and that it will provide the right forms and help in filling them out so that anyone who pays the fee can get needed medications. The company says it's like hiring an expert to do your tax return.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued the firm, however, claiming it is simply selling blank application forms, which are available directly from the drug companies for free.

Joyce Rhodus and her husband, Bill, believed My Free Medicine was the answer to their prayers. But the couple never got the medicine they needed and My Free Medicine refused to refund their money.

"I ended up crying. I said, 'You know $200 may not be a lot to you, but it's a lot to us,' and he just laughed and hung the phone up," said Joyce Rhodus, who suffers from heart disease. Bill Rhodus has cancer. They were spending about $800 a month on medicine.

Many other desperate people turned to the company, and some wish they hadn't. The Louisville Better Business Bureau has received complaints from across the country.

"We desperately need our money; we are in our 70s and life is getting hard for us," said Mattingly, reading from one of the letters. "Those are the kind of typical complaints."