Amerigroup Foundation Presents Grant to Rx Partnership

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Amerigroup Foundation recently announced that it has provided a $2,500 check to the Rx Partnership to benefit the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic.

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. More than $50 million in free medication has been provided to more than 35,000 uninsured Virginians since the program began in 2002.

Amy Yarcich, executive director of Rx Partnership remarked, "Through their generous contribution, Amerigroup is helping to support the delivery of medication to uninsured patients at the Rockbridge Area 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."

The Amerigroup Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the Rx Partnership in Richmond, Va., earlier this year and announced the first recipient, the Augusta Regional Free Clinic, in April. The grant is being dispersed in quarterly installments to support increased access to prescription drugs at four free clinics in Virginia. The Rockbridge Area Free Clinic is the recipient of the second quarterly installment.

"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."

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, added, "The Rockbridge Area Free Clinic plays a critical role in providing medical, dental and prescription drug services to the people who need it the most. This grant will help the staff and medical providers carry out their mission of providing a much-needed safety net for the uninsured members of our community."

"One of the most significant benefits for patients of the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic is our ability to offer free medicine on site," said Suzanne Sheridan, executive director of the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic. "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."

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 medications 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.

About the Amerigroup Foundation

The Amerigroup Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Amerigroup Corporation (NYSE: AGP), a multistate managed health care company based in Virginia Beach, Va. 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.

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

SOURCE Amerigroup Foundation