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.

Bilking the Vulnerable?

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."

Vernes Walz appeared in a commercial for the company, but now she criticizes My Free Medicine.

"I would say that My Free Medicine saves me right around $600 a month," Walz said in the ad.

Now she said she feels "stupid" watching the clip. Walz changed her mind once she learned the application forms were available directly from the drug companies -- at no charge.

"But the papers are simple to fill out, and they're not worth $195," she said.

A Fee for What Should be Free

Mike Beebe, the Arkansas attorney general, is also suing the company, alleging it deceived consumers.

"This guy is charging these people who can least afford to pay for it $200 every six months for information that's free. That's wrong. He shouldn't be doing it, and we're gonna stop him," he said.

The lawsuits say many customers mistakenly believed My Free Medicine had a special relationship with the drug companies.

When an FTC investigator called the firm posing as a customer named Maria, a salesperson told her, "We deal with over 150 pharmaceutical companies, Maria."

My Free Medicine denies all the allegations. But the firm's owner, Geoff Hasler, has been accused of fraud before. He was indicted for mail fraud in 2000, pled guilty to misdemeanor copyright infringement and had to repay more than $600,000. In response, Hasler sent a letter.

"The processing fee is more than worthwhile to insure you receive the medications without the hassle and stress," he wrote.

He said the Better Business Bureau complaints are a tiny fraction of his customer base and he said he had worked to accommodate unhappy customers and in some cases refund their money.

The Better Business Bureau's Mattingly disagreed however.

"I haven't seen that at all," he said. "We have significant numbers of unanswered complaints, significant numbers of unresolved complaints."

To get information about 500 public and private patient assistance programs which provide more than 2,500 medicines, visit www.pparx.org or call 888-4PPA-NOW (888-477-2669).

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