Welvista is a non– profit organization providing access to prescription medications for the medically uninsured. Partnering with 12 pharmaceutical companies who donate their medications and a network of over 3,000 healthcare providers, Welvista provides a single point of access to over 200 prescription medications that treat chronic disease and offers an affordable solution to bridge the gap in healthcare accessibility.

There are over 700,000 medically uninsured residents in S.C. The majority do not qualify for federal assistance programs including Medicaid and Medicare. Many of these individuals have chronic health problems, including hypertension and diabetes, and they are less likely to be receiving preventative healthcare services. The uninsured are more likely to use emergency rooms for primary care and to be hospitalized with complications from preventable problems.

Welvista was created to meet the healthcare needs of predominately working poor uninsured individuals. The organization works to shift the more costly emergency room visits and hospitalizations that result from lack of access to prescription medication to appropriate outpatient settings, decreasing the expense that is ultimately paid by the healthcare provider and taxpayer.

At the center of Welvista is its mail–order pharmacy located in Columbia, which is the largest mail order pharmacy for the uninsured in the U.S. There are currently over 200 medications on the Welvista formulary that can be found at www.welvista.org.

For more information, call Tammy Wallace at 933-9183 or 960-1445.