7/11/06 O’Malley-Brown Release Detailed Plan for Affordable Prescription Drugs

Kitchen Table Talk kicks off two-week series highlighting the O’Malley-Brown Plan for More Affordable, More Accessible, And Higher Quality Health Care

BOWIE, MD (July 11, 2006) – Today, the O’Malley-Brown campaign released the O’Malley-Brown Plan for More Affordable Prescription Drugs during two “kitchen table� talks in Prince George’s County. Joined by Maryland seniors at the Evergreen Senior Center and the Bowie Senior Center, Anthony Brown unveiled the four-part plan as part of the two-week long roll-out of the O’Malley-Brown Plan for More Affordable, More Accessible, and Higher Quality Health Care.

“In a state as strong as Maryland, there is no reason that any Marylander has to choose between paying for heat or paying for the prescription drugs they need,� said Anthony Brown. “But that’s the reality in Maryland because we have a governor who sides with the pharmaceutical companies instead of our families.�

The O’Malley-Brown Plan for More Affordable Prescription Drugs would:

1) Implement partnerships with other states to give Maryland seniors access to affordable and safe prescription drug from abroad, including through the Internet-based I-Save Rx program.

2) Explore ways to leverage statewide purchasing power to negotiate lower cost prescription drugs.

3) Help seniors with the transition into the Medicare Part D Plan, so that can easily pinpoint less expensive prescription drugs.

4) Create a statewide prescription drug discount program so more seniors can have access to less expensive prescription drugs.

“It’s a wonderful thing,â€? said Evergreen resident and WW II veteran Charles Henderson. “No one should have to pay $800 a month for medication. We only have but so many dollars in our budget—-very little money for food or to try to save anything.â€?