Paul Visits with Seniors in Aransas County PDF Print E-mail
FOR RELEASE: August 24, 2000

Paul Visits with Seniors in Aransas County Promotes Plan to Provide Affordable Prescription Drugs

Victoria, TX - Representative Ron Paul visited Wednesday with senior citizens during two stops in Rockport, discussing his efforts in Washington and Texas to make prescription drugs more affordable. Paul met with seniors at the Rockport Coastal Care Center and the Oak Crest Nursing Home, both in Aransas County. Dr. Paul has introduced the "Pharmaceutical Freedom Act" (HR 3636) and begun a new district service, "The Free or Low-Cost Prescription Drug Program", both of which are designed to address the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug costs.
"The 'Pharmaceutical Freedom Act' will ensure that millions of American seniors have access to affordable pharmaceutical products," Paul stated. "My bill makes pharmaceuticals more affordable to seniors by providing them with a tax credit for money spent on prescription drugs. It also removes needless government barriers to importing pharmaceuticals and protects Internet pharmacies from being strangled by federal regulation. These measures will increase competition and make prescription drugs more affordable for millions of Americans."
Paul also discussed the "Free and Low-Cost Prescription Drug" program, a district effort he introduced two weeks ago. The program is designed to make seniors aware of programs offered by many drug companies that supply prescription drugs at little or no charge to individuals who cannot afford them, and to help them fill out the necessary paperwork to apply for the programs. Dr. Paul's staff has held workshops in several district locations and already has helped more than 200 seniors in their search for more affordable prescription drugs.
"We tested this program and had several success stories where seniors received free prescriptions," Paul continued. "After seeing positive results, I decided to make this a district-wide effort to provide immediate help to our seniors. However, the best approach to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs in the long run is to eliminate government subsidies of insurance and pharmaceutical companies, while preventing government rationing and price-fixing. We need to create a true free market for prescription drugs."
"The 'Pharmaceutical Freedom Act' will give senior citizens more options and will dramatically reduce the cost of their drug bills," Paul concluded. "In the meantime, the "Free and Low-Cost Prescription Drug" program will give seniors in my district needed short-term relief until Congress joins me in fighting for a real, practical solution to this national problem."