SIRUM Partners with State of Maryland to Expand Access to Affordable Medication

SIRUM's pharmacy service, Good Pill Pharmacy, will offer 500+ low-cost medications to anyone in Maryland whose medication costs are too high

, /PRNewswire/ -- SIRUM and Governor Wes Moore announced a new partnership to expand medication access across the state of Maryland. SIRUM, the nation's largest redistributor of surplus medications, will bring its low-cost pharmacy service, Good Pill Home Delivery, to the state's residents. Powered by donated surplus medicine, Good Pill offers 500+ medications with an average cost of $2/month to anyone whose medication costs are too high.

"Maryland is already a national leader in making prescription drugs more affordable; and today, we write the next chapter in our work to ensure that no Marylander has to choose between life-saving medicine and basic needs such as food and housing," said Gov. Moore.

A consumer healthcare experience survey of Maryland residents indicates that half of Marylanders report being worried about affording the cost of prescription drugs, and nearly one in four did not fill a prescription, cut pills in half, or skipped a dose of medicine due to cost.

"Healthcare should be about making it easy for families to get the medications they need—not a complicated process of figuring out costs and coverage," said SIRUM Co-Founder Kiah Williams. "SIRUM is proud to partner with the State of Maryland to make our pharmacy Good Pill a simple, affordable option for Marylanders to access prescription medicine."

As a nonprofit dedicated to making medication accessible and affordable to all, SIRUM facilitates the collection of unopened, unexpired, non-controlled surplus medicine that would otherwise go unused at healthcare facilities like pharmacies and nursing homes, and redistributes it to communities and families in need instead. Good Pill is SIRUM's pharmacy service that delivers medicine at a transparent low cost, straight to patient's homes. There are no restrictions on age, income or insurance to sign up for Good Pill. 

"Maryland is always working to provide access to affordable prescription drugs for Marylanders," said Prescription Drug Affordability Board Executive Director Andy York. "We are excited that this partnership with SIRUM provides an incredible resource that can provide immediate relief for Maryland patients."

Good Pill carries 500+ different medications covering 75% of the most commonly prescribed medications, including medication for common conditions like hypertension, Type II diabetes, mental health conditions and more. With Good Pill, most prescriptions are $2 each for a 30-day supply or $6 for a 90-day supply. All donated medication is checked by licensed healthcare and pharmacy professionals for safety before being dispensed to patients in need.

Maryland will be Good Pill's third state of operation since launching as a licensed pharmacy in 2017. To date, Good Pill has provided 1 million prescriptions to families across Georgia and Illinois worth an estimated $90 million, saving patients an average of $150/month.

With the expansion into Maryland, SIRUM now operates in 11 states nationwide.

To learn more about SIRUM's work to redistribute surplus medicine, visit sirum.org. To learn more about the home-delivery pharmacy and where patients can sign up, please visit GoodPill.org.

About SIRUM
SIRUM was founded at Stanford University by Adam Kircher, George Wang, PhD, and Kiah Williams. SIRUM drives the future of healthcare by connecting people with surplus medications. 50 million Americans don't take their prescribed medication because they can't afford it. With soaring copays, deductibles, and insurance costs, many people are making impossible choices between medications, food and housing, gas to get to work, and more. Meanwhile, more than $10B of perfectly good medicine is wasted every year.

SIRUM enables pharmacies and health facilities to donate their unused medicine, and their system is built to ensure compliance and provide full liability protection. SIRUM places simple "recycling" boxes in their facilities, arranges the collection of unopened, unexpired, non-controlled medicine, and redistributes them to those in need through a network of community partners such as local free clinics and charitable pharmacies.

Recognized by the New York Times, TED, and the Audacious Project, SIRUM has already provided $300 million worth of medication to more than 500,000 patients -- saving medicine to save lives.

For more information about SIRUM, please visit sirum.org.

SOURCE SIRUM