Amerigroup Foundation Awards Grant to the Rx Partnership

FISHERSVILLE, Va., April 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Amerigroup Foundation today announced that it has provided a grant of $10,000 to the Rx Partnership in Richmond, Virginia. The grant will be used to support increased access to medications in four free clinics in Virginia.

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The Rx Partnership is an organization that works to provide uninsured Virginians with access to medication through community-based clinics by serving as a broker to access and distribute free bulk prescription medications to 20 affiliated community-based clinics.  Rx Partnership's unique bulk replacement method results in a streamlined, efficient and cost effective process that delivers more drugs to a greater number of patients in need. More than $50 million in free medication has been provided to over 35,500 uninsured Virginians since the program began in 2002.

The first $2,500 of the $10,000 grant provided to Rx Partnership supports the Augusta Regional Free Clinic in Fishersville, Virginia. "Rx Partnership is pleased to add Amerigroup as a key partner in 2011," said Amy Yarcich, executive director of RxP. "Through their generous contribution, Amerigroup is helping to support the delivery of medication to uninsured patients at Augusta Regional Free Clinic and 19 other free clinics and community health centers around the state who rely on Rx Partnership to help their most vulnerable patients receive the vital medication they need to treat a variety of chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and asthma." 

Senator Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta) added, "The Augusta Regional Free Clinic is such a key player in our community by providing healthcare, dental and pharmaceutical services for the uninsured. In a time when state and local governments are trying to do more with less, Free Clinics help provide that safety net to reach our community members in need. This grant demonstrates the commitment of the staff and medical providers here and I am pleased their efforts and dedication are being recognized."  

"One of the most significant benefits for patients of the Augusta Regional Free Clinic is our ability to offer free medicine on site," said Margaret Hersh, executive director of the Augusta Regional Free Clinic. "Without the medication assistance from Rx Partnership our 1,600 patients would have difficulty obtaining the more than 30,000 prescriptions provided at the clinic and valued at over $2.4 million that are distributed to them. These medications help our patients maintain quality of life and prevent needless suffering. The partnership between Rx Partnership and Amerigroup will ensure that underserved patients in our community and across Virginia will continue to have access to medications that impact the most basic human needs of health and well-being."

"The Rx Partnership works to focus attention on the access of medication for the uninsured," said John E. Littel, chairman of the Amerigroup Foundation. "We are so pleased the Foundation was able to play a part in supporting this worthy cause."

The three remaining grants will support medication delivery to selected free clinics in Virginia and will be awarded quarterly throughout the remainder of 2011.

About Rx Partnership

Rx Partnership is an innovative public/private partnership to increase access to free prescription medications for Virginia's eligible uninsured. The program solicits free medication from pharmaceutical companies, and then arranges for their distribution directly to Affiliate free clinics and federally qualified health centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, resulting in significantly more drugs getting to the people who need them, but cannot afford them. For more information about RxP, visit www.RxPartnership.org.

About the Amerigroup Foundation

The Amerigroup Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Amerigroup Corporation (NYSE: AGP), a multi-state managed health care company based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Foundation works to create healthy communities by fostering access to health care, encouraging safe and healthy children and families, and promoting community improvement and healthy neighborhoods. For more information about the Amerigroup Foundation, visit www.realsolutions.com/company/pages/Foundation.aspx. 

CONTACTS:  
Investors:  Julie Loftus Trudell
Amerigroup Corporation
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
(757) 321-3597
[email protected]

News Media: Maureen C. McDonnell
Amerigroup Corporation
Vice President, External Communications
(757) 473-2731
[email protected]  

SOURCE Amerigroup Foundation