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LANETT — A representative of the East Alabama Regional Planning Commission in Anniston paid a visit to the Lanett Senior Center on Wednesday to talk with local seniors about the State of Alabama’s Senior Rx program.

The state began this program in 2002 as a means of helping people in the 55 and older age group who had chronic medical conditions but had a hard time getting the prescription medicine they needed because they had no health insurance or not enough to help with their medical condition.

The program now covers all age groups in need of help.

“It’s for anyone who does not have health insurance or who has inadequate insurance,” said Norma Cosby. “We can access name-brand medication free of charge. They ship out three-month supplies at a time. To be covered by the program, a doctor must sign you up for it.”

Senior Rx can provide Ensure and other liquid supplements to its clients for free or at low cost. They can also help with diabetic supplies such as lancets, testing strips and a free test meter every year. Senior Rx helps low income and disabled individuals of any age to enroll in programs to access more than 1,200 medicines for chronic medical conditions for free or at low cost.

Alabama residents who need Senior Rx include those who have no prescription drug coverage for a certain medicine, those who have been deemed disabled by a physician, those who are in the 24-month gap for Medicare coverage and those who are in the Medicare Part D gap.

“If any one of these situations affects you, you need to call us at 1-800-243-5463,” Cosby said. “We have a lot of services and have helped many people. We can help anyone from any age group who has a chronic condition. I have never had a patient turned down because of an income reason, and I have been doing this for more than 20 years. I always tell my clients that if they have been turned down for any reason let me know. Sometimes people are denied for reasons that can be overcome.”

The East Alabama Area Agency on Aging and its Aging & Disability Resource Center are located in Anniston and serves Calhoun, Cleburne, Etowah and Cherokee counties on the north and Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Coosa, Tallapoosa and Chambers counties to the south.

For more information, go to www.EastAlabamaAging.org.