BRIDGETON, NJ – Community Health Care, a healthcare provider for uninsured and underinsured residents in southern New Jersey, is now offering discount medications to tens of thousands of families.

"Too many patients are unable to afford the medications our doctors prescribe," said Gil Walter, Community Health Care's CEO. "Our new discount medication program will enable more patients to afford the prescriptions they need to get well and stay healthy."

Created by the federal government to expand access to affordable medications, the 340B program discounts medications up to 60 percent below retail prices through qualified community health centers and hospitals. Despite the need, many community health centers have limited 340B programs - or none at all - due to the program's complexity.

Walter said Community Health Care patients are not unlike those nationwide who struggle to afford expensive medications. In a recent study by the Kaiser Foundation, more than a quarter of Americans said they have not filled a prescription because of the expense, and nearly one in five said they cut pills in half or skipped doses.

Because Community Health Care's patients receive an average of 2.7 prescriptions at each appointment, reducing the cost of medications was a priority for the organization. Walter said all patients of Community Health Care are eligible for this federal prescription program.

Community Health Care provides internal medicine, pediatric, dental, mental health and other services to 43,000 patients at 18 sites across southern New Jersey.