- “Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care” helps uninsured patients access healthcare for anxiety and depression and is a partnership between Direct Relief, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
- The expansion of medicine donations for anxiety and depression into seven new states across the United States has the potential to extend the program’s reach to more than 650,000 uninsured patients through 400+ eligible clinics.
- The program provides access to a portfolio of donated medicines for anxiety and depression, valued at over $17 million; Teva has committed $2 million of grant funding over two years to free and charitable clinics that care for uninsured patients.
Direct Relief, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC), and Teva Pharmaceuticals today announced an expansion of medicine donations through their collaborative mental health access program into seven new states to advance access to healthcare for uninsured patients seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.
Through “Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care,” Teva will continue to provide free and charitable clinics with $2 million in grant funding over two years and make available, on a charitable basis, a portfolio of commonly used generic medications that treat anxiety and depression. Medicines will be available to free and charitable clinics and pharmacies in Direct Relief’s network. The annual value of these medicines provided by Teva is over $17 million this year alone, as determined by their wholesale acquisition cost.
This announcement expands the program’s medicine donations into seven new states: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, increasing the program’s potential reach to more than 650,000 uninsured patients through 400+ eligible free and charitable clinics across ten total states. The seven new states announced today were selected based on the program’s ability to maximize patient impact, which was determined by assessing unmet needs and the presence of a strong network of free and charitable clinics in each state.
The program was launched in June 2022, following which the pilot states of Florida, New Jersey and California received product donations and subsequently grant funding to selected clinics.
“As the need for mental health support surges, access to care for people living with anxiety and depression is more pressing than ever,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO and President of Direct Relief. “Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Teva for demonstrating such leadership and dedication and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the NAFC and Teva to provide patients with the resources necessary to lead happier and healthier lives.”
“We continue to face a mental health crisis across the U.S. and those directly impacted deserve access to treatment, regardless of background or economic status,” said Sven Dethlefs, PhD, Executive Vice President, North America Commercial at Teva. “Teva is committed to the pursuit of health equity and will continue to bring forward its expertise and resources to help ensure medication availability for anxiety and depression.”
“Free and Charitable Clinics are critical to providing care to underserved communities,” said Nicole Lamoureux, President and CEO of NAFC. “We’re appreciative of Direct Relief and Teva’s partnership as we chart new strategies to alleviate healthcare inequities and provide access to medicine for some of the most vulnerable among us.”
“Since the pandemic began, addressing mental health has continued to be a priority for our clinic,” shared Fred Bauermeister, Executive Director at Free Clinic of Simi Valley. “With these donations, we have been able to increase access to medications that treat anxiety and depression for the uninsured or underinsured members of our community, generating both progress and a sense of hope.”
A third of adults in the U.S. show symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both. Notably, more than 5.5 million adults with a mental illness are uninsured, and almost a third of all adults with a mental illness reported they could not receive the treatment they needed.2 Additionally, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial minorities have experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to their white counterparts. Depression was 15 to 23 times more prevalent for those who identify as Black, Hispanic or Asian.