It’s about time something is done for seniors. This past week Gov. Don Siegelman unveiled his plan for a statewide prescription drug assistance program that hopefully will help many senior residents of Alabama get some kind of break on their monthly medications.

The plan will staff Alabama’s 13 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) with advocates to help seniors take advantage of pharmaceutical programs that will give them access to free and low-cost prescription drugs, according to the governor’s office. To date, several pilot programs have been initiated throughout Alabama to see how effective these programs would be, and already, it has produced massive savings to Alabama’s seniors.

Prescription drug companies are constantly ripping us off, especially seniors who do not have the advantage of group insurance from the workplace. Many of these seniors are on Medicaid, and although it is good they have some type of insurance, prescription drugs still are so expensive that seniors have to choose between electricity, food or their medication.

Mayor Dexter McLendon and the Greenville City Council have been working on a similar prescription plan and the local Department of Human Resources also has a plan to help seniors.

But it is time that something is done statewide and Siegelman and the Alabama State government has finally realized that it is time to take care of seniors who have for so long taken care of us.