Congressman Mike Michaud

Rx Cares for ME

In 2003, in the wake of massive job losses throughout the state, I joined with Senator Snowe to ask the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to help Mainers gain access to lower cost medicines. The result was Rx Cares for ME, a joint effort between PhRMA and a number of Maine health organizations designed to give Mainers a single, central point of access for patient assistant programs.

The Rx Cares for ME program pulls together the many existing patient assistance programs that provide low cost or free medicines to qualified individuals. Applying to the hundreds of existing programs has always been a confusing and difficult process—one that prevented most consumers from finding a discount that worked for them. Few people even knew that such discounts existed.

Rx Cares for ME solved many of these problems.
Through Rx Cares for ME, Mainers can determine if they are eligible for hundreds of programs that provide thousands of medicines free or at a reduced cost. Applicants are asked four simple eligibility questions, and are then given assistance in the application process in any programs for which they meet the eligibility requirements.

To find out if you qualify for any of these patient assistance go to www.RxCaresForME.org or call toll free 1-888-477-2669.

The America Rx Act

In the longer term, making prescription drugs affordable for everyone is one of the most important tasks we face.  To address this problem, I Introduced the America Rx Act. America Rx follows the model established by our state’s creative MaineRx law, and brings it to the national level.

It would allow the federal government to negotiate affordable prescriptions prices for all Americans without coverage. It uses the same principles of free market power and volume discounts to achieve lower costs that the Veterans Administration and private insurers have already successfully used for years. Other countries, such as Canada, receive discounts that are significantly lower than available in the United States, where drug spending is near $140 billion and rises at almost 20% per year.

Something must be done to make prescription drugs more affordable.  America Rx is the best solution—it is fair, it uses an approach that has been proven to work, and it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a dime.  It would deliver prescription medication at a fair price.

To read the bill and check on its status, click here.

7/14/2005 1:57:16 PM