Prescription drug price relief



By Stephanie Smith LEWISTON - Prescription drugs are expensive. A special orange bus rolled into town Thursday to help uninsured and under-insured people deal with the cost of medication.

"What we are doing here is trying to make sure that patients who qualify for patient's assistance find out about the programs that could help them and that they actually get the help they need," said Spokesman Jeff Trewhitt.

Counselors inside the bus help people find programs that will help pay for their pharmaceutical needs.

"These are programs that provide free or nearly free medication to qualified patients," he said.

Trewhitt said 89 percent of the people who have applied for help in Idaho qualified for assistance. The bus was parked outside of the Lewiston Salvation Army Thursday morning and has now moved on to help people in Coeur D'Alene. But, not to worry you can still get help.

"The beauty of this program is that you could do this from the comfort and privacy of your own home," said Trewhitt. "There's a toll free number, 1-888-477-2669 and there's a website if you have a computer. The process only takes about 15 minutes."