June 6, 2006

OLYMPIA… Sen. Dale Brandland plans on being at the “Help is Here Express” event in Bellingham on Friday, and he encourages local seniors and low-income residents to come out in force as well.

The event aims to help qualifying citizens who lack prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need. The “Help Is Here Express” bus, which will be on site, is a traveling enrollment center equipped with computer terminals, mobile telephones, and people who can help patients find out if they are eligible to receive assistance paying for their medicines. Attendees will get help comparing the more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs and signing up for the one that’s right for them. In many cases, that can mean getting their prescriptions for free or nearly free.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a coalition of pharmaceutical companies, doctors and other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups, is sponsoring the event. The details of the event are:

• Date: Friday, June 9
• Time: 10 a.m. – noon
• Location: Bellingham Sea Mar Clinic, 4455, Cordata Parkway

As a member of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee, Brandland has been actively looking for ways to help citizens increase their access health care. In 2006, he co-sponsored a bill directing the Washington Health Care Authority to help uninsured individuals get more access to free drug prescription programs. The bill passed and the governor signed it on May 4.

“Many times we attend events that are informative, but don’t necessarily make a difference in the quality of our lives,” Brandland said. “Not so with this event. Seniors and low-income residents can walk away Friday having received the help they have been seeking for a long time. I encourage everyone to come out and see if they can get help paying for their prescriptions.”

It is helpful for those who attend to bring a list of the medications they are currently taking. Anyone who cannot attend can call the Partnership for Prescription Assistance program at 1-888-477-2669 or visit www.pparx.org for help with the registration process.

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Sen. Dale Brandland represents Washington’s 42nd District, which includes Bellingham, Lynden and Blaine. Brandland serves on the Financial Institutions, Housing and Consumer Protection Committee, Health and Long-Term Care Committee, Human Services and Corrections Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee.  For more information contact Brian Zylstra at (360) 786-7399 or zylstra.brian@leg.wa.gov