Free card for savings at pharmacy

By JEAN RAGS
Published July 20, 2007

What's in your wallet?

Hopefully, you are one of the approximately 4,000 residents who are now carrying the Hernando County drug prescription discount card. This small, unassuming card allows residents to receive a drug prescription discount if they are uninsured or underinsured. The best news is that this card is free.

There is no enrollment form, no age requirement, no membership fee, no income limits, no restrictions and no limits on how many times you use the card, and one card is available for immediate use by the entire family.

Now I know what you're thinking: This just sounds too good to be true. Well, at a time when residents need it the most, this is the real deal.

To give you some background, in 2005, the Hernando County Commission was the first in the state to enter into a contract with the National Association of Counties and Caremark Inc. for free drug prescription discount cards. The cards and promotional posters were printed and shipped to the county at no cost to taxpayers and are available to any county resident at all participating retail pharmacies, county libraries and some county offices.

The cards provide an average discount of 19 percent off the price you would pay at the pharmacy and offer an average saving of approximately 50 percent on a three-month mail service program for select medications. The cards are accepted at 57,000 retail pharmacies nationwide.

To give you an idea of the savings this card had for the month of May, for the nearly 4,000 residents participating, the average price saving per prescription was $9.75. That equates to total dollar savings for all prescriptions filled of $76,681 - a 21.20 percent saving per prescription.

These savings will vary based on the pharmacy and the drug. However, during the period of May 2006 through May 2007, the average saved per prescription was 21.69 percent, with total dollar savings for all prescriptions filled with the card of $923,579.71.

In addition to these savings, the user may purchase pet medications and get access to health topics via the Web, call toll-free to customer service and clinical support, speak to the pharmacy help desk and more.

The Hernando County drug prescription discount card is not an insurance plan and cannot be used in conjunction with other insurance or prescription coverage. However, it will be accepted any time your prescription is not covered by insurance.

I encourage all our residents to pick up a card and use it in good health, and remember to ask your neighbor: What's in your wallet?

Fast Facts:

To learn more

For information about the Hernando County drug prescription discount card, call Caremark toll-free at 877 321-2652 or go to naco.advancerx.com.

[Last modified July 20, 2007, 07:47:09]