Program to help residents get prescription drugs

RAYMONDVILLE — A new program could help uninsured residents obtain the prescription drugs they need.

The city will allow Texas A&M University’s Medication Assistance Program to use offices at the city’s Rural Technical Building to help low-income and uninsured residents obtain prescribed medication.

“It’s good to have advocates to help people who need assistance with prescription medication,” City Manager Eleazar Garcia said yesterday.

The program, which will operate out of city offices the first and third Wednesdays of the month, has contacted area doctors and clinics, asking them to refer patients, said Leo Treviño, the program’s local coordinator.

“If you can’t afford it, come to me,” Treviño said. “Give me a chance to get the medication. I don’t turn anyone away.”

Treviño said many of the area’s low-income and uninsured residents cannot afford brand-name prescription medications to treat such common conditions as diabetes.

“Many times it’s a matter of either paying bills or buying medication,” he said.

Treviño said he directly deals with drug manufacturers to obtain medications for residents for one-year periods.

“Most companies have programs available that not many people know about,” he said.

In 2013, the program saved 966 residents more than $2.2 million in the Coastal Bend area, according to the university’s website.

“Access to prescription medication has become an important concern as drug costs continue to increase and represent a significant out-of-pocket expense for many uninsured residents,” the website states.

“Our staff assists clients with filling out drug company applications that offer a limited supply of free or low-cost medications through their assistance programs.”