A national expert on discount prescription drug plans is helping launch a new program to help the state’s elderly get their prescriptions cheaper. This fall, Iowa landed a million dollar federal grant to set-up a coop which will buy drugs in bulk, then distribute the drugs to pharmacies, nursing homes and individuals that join the co-op. Dr. Steve Schondelmeyer says, in addition, seniors will be clearly advised that generic drugs are a viable option. He says generics will probably same seniors more money than anything else. He says brand name drugs can still be used when they are mostappropriate and necessary.Schondelmeyer says last year, America’s seniors spent, on average, 12-hundred dollars on prescription drugs. Schondelmeyer is a professor at the University of Minnesota.