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County leads with drug card benefit

The discount may not be deep, but it is definite, and that is good news for all Hernando County residents who are interested in saving a few dollars on their prescription drugs.

Thanks to Commissioners Chris Kingsley and Nancy Robinson, who first shared the idea with their colleagues last summer, and the attentive efforts of health and human services director Jean Rags, who researched and negotiated a contract, soon everyone in the county will have access to a discount card that could save them between 3 and 30 percent on their next prescription. The cards, which can be used at every major pharmacy, are being offered through the National Association of Counties, which has an agreement with a private insurance company, Caremark.

Although the pilot program is in place in about 150 counties nationwide, Hernando is the first in Florida to participate. Since Hernando took the lead, however, several Florida counties have asked Rags to share her research.

The cards are available now at the government center in Brooksville, and Rags said Monday that they should be distributed to pharmacies and other locations by next week. She and her staff also will be visiting senior centers and homeowners associations and service industry gathering places to raise awareness and answer questions about the program.

Although the discount cards are available to everyone in the county at no charge, Rags says the people who stand to benefit the most are the uninsured who have no prescription drug plan. In Hernando County, that is 17.8 percent of the approximately 150,000 residents. One card is good for an entire family and its use is unlimited.

Even though the discount card cannot be used to further reduce the price of a drug if the holder already has prescription insurance, it can benefit many, said Rags. She points out that it provides an upfront discount for those who have signed up for a Medicare D plan, and that it also discounts materials used by diabetics, for example. And, she said, it could offer even greater savings to those who have their prescriptions mailed.

Details are available at naco.advancerx.com, where visitors also can learn about discounts that are available for pets that must take drugs.

It is not often that Hernando County is on the cutting edge of a national program. But, commendably, that claim can be made legitimately in this instance. And the fact that no tax money is being spent to provide this innovative consumer service is even better.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 02:15:28]