AUGUSTA – The Maine Council of Senior Citizens is inviting area residents to join its bus run to Canada – its second trip this year – to help people without prescription insurance buy cheaper drugs in Canada.

The trip involves one overnight stay. The bus will leave at 6 a.m. on Nov. 5 in Saco and pick up passengers along the way. Typically Lewiston-Auburn residents board the bus off the Auburn exit of the Maine Turnpike before 7 a.m. The bus will return late on Nov. 6.

Those invited are people without prescription insurance who can’t afford their medicine, said Neena Quirion of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens. Most are seniors on Medicare, but some riders are younger people without insurance, she said.

Riders are seen by a border doctor in Calais licensed to write prescriptions in both the United States and Canada. Riders then proceed across the river and fill their prescriptions in Canada, where prescriptions are about half the cost because the Canadian government regulates drug companies’ charges.

The council has been making the bus trips for at least four years now. Quirion said she’s frustrated that Congress has not acted on the problem facing seniors, who sometimes are faced with deciding whether to buy food or medicine.

“Congress is still arguing the facts,” Quirion said. “Nothing’s changed. Only the price of prescriptions has gone up.”

During the last trip in May, 21 people collectively saved $19,000 by buying six months’ worth of prescriptions in Canada, she said.

The rides are subsidized by the Alliance for Retired Americans, which is affiliated with several labor organizations. People riding are asked to donate $35 if they can. The night’s stay and transportation is covered. “They only need money for meals and to buy their prescriptions,” she said. Those interested should call Quirion as soon as possible. “Space fills up quickly.”

Contact the Maine Council of Senior Citizens at 800-452-8794.

– Bonnie Washuk