(NAPSI)-With millions of Americans today lacking health insurance, prescription drugs can be a big problem for many families. And no one is immune. Even middle class families without health insurance struggle to pay for needed medicines. And while new $4 co-pay programs from major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Wegmans are attractive, they are no help if the prescription is not generic.

Now a growing nationwide program sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies is helping financially struggling patients obtain access to the prescription medicines they need. By calling a toll-free number or logging on to a user-friendly Web site, patients can contact the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a single point of access to more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs providing help with more than 2,500 brand name and generic medicines for free or nearly free.

Already, the PPA has helped more than 3.2 million low-income uninsured and underinsured patients, but millions more could potentially benefit. For example, the PPA is now helping to connect patients without a regular doctor with free health clinics in their community. This assures that patients are prescribed the proper treatment for their health needs and helps them complete patient assistance program applications.

“We realize that medicines sitting on a shelf do not benefit anyone,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. “America’s pharmaceutical research companies are devoted to not only inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives, but to making sure all patients have access to those medicines. That is why we have taken the Partnership for Prescription Assistance across the country, so that no patient goes without the medicines they need.”

In order to reach as many people as possible, PPA has taken its message on the road with two traveling education centers, the “Help is Here Express”. The big orange buses are each equipped with 10 computer terminals, phones, and trained specialists on board to help patients learn about patient assistance programs.

“The ‘Help is Here Express’ bus, which visited upstate New York in December, gives PPA the mobility to reach and inform patients in communities of color about programs to help pay for lifesaving medicines -- enabling compliance and potentially offsetting the prevalence of disease disparities,” said Gary A. Puckrein, Ph.D., executive director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation.

More than 1,300 national and local organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Urban League, United Way of America, Easter Seals, and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, have partnered with America’s pharmaceutical companies to make the PPA a success.

For additional information on patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) toll-free to speak with a trained specialist, or visit www.pparx.org.