Clark County To Offer Prescription Drug Discount Card That Can Be Used By All Residents
Discount Cards Will Offer Average Savings Of 24 Percent Off Retail Price
On March 1, 2010, Clark County launched the National Association of Counties (NACo) drug discount card program. The program helps consumers save money on their prescription medications any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance. The cards may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. There are no enrollment fees, no forms to fill out, no age or income requirements and no medical restrictions. The entire family is covered with just one card and virtually all commonly prescribed medicine is covered. There is no cost to the county, county taxpayers, or consumers to participate. The cards have been distributed to pharmacies throughout Clark County by Job and Family Services staff and may be used at any participating retail pharmacy in or out of Clark County. Additional cards can be printed from NACo’s web site: www.naco.org, Caremark’s web site: www.caremark.com/naco or by contacting Robin Maynard at (937) 327-1859. The discount card is not insurance.
Savings average 24 percent: some discounts may be more, and some less, depending on the drug and quantity purchased. Cardholders are eligible for higher discounts on a three-month supply of some medications through mail service. The card can also be used on pet prescriptions.
Unlike many other card programs, there is no enrollment cost or membership fee. The cardholder pays the negotiated discount price or the pharmacy’s retail price, whichever is lower. The average discount is 24 percent. More than 59,000 pharmacies nationwide accept the card, including most chain pharmacies and most independents. Wal-Mart pharmacies are also participating in the program. So far, 1,298 counties are participating in the program which has saved county residents $258 million on prescription drug care.
“Using the NACo prescription discount card is easy,” said Robin Maynard. “A cardholder will simply present it at a participating pharmacy. There is no enrollment form, no membership fee and no restrictions or limits on frequency of use. Cardholders and their family members may use the card any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance.” The discount card program is administered by CVS Caremark. More information about the program is available on NACo’s web site: www.naco.org.
Some additional benefits include:
A safety feature that alerts pharmacies when one drug may conflict with another medication the cardholder is taking if the prescriptions were obtained with the NACo discount card.
The NACo discount card program remains a useful option now that Medicare Part D has been implemented. For example, the card can be used when a Medicare Part D plan doesn’t cover a drug.
For more information about Job & Family Services of Clark County please visit our web site: http://www.clarkdjfs.org.
