Since June, about 1,500 people have rung up savings on prescriptions, using a discount card for people who don’t have insurance.
A shipment of 50,000 of the prescription drug discount cards are now being distributed to local libraries, city halls and senior centers, the second batch to arrive in the county.
| For more information check Snohomish County’s Web site:
www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Council/Information/Council_Drug_ Card. |
The first 100,000 of the cards, which arrived in June, have all been distributed.
“We all know medications are expensive,” said Dr. Harold McCutchan, of Northwest Hand Specialists in Everett, where 250 of the cards recently arrived.
“I would encourage all physicians to get them in their office and give them out. One card is good for the whole family.”
There’s no paper work, no fees to join and no income restrictions on who can use the card. The program is open to anyone who lives or works in Snohomish County.
The card is intended to help reduce the cost of medications for people who now have high insurance deductibles and those who aren’t now on prescription drug plans.
Even those who have prescription benefits as part of their health insurance can use the card to see if they can get a better deal.
“Our program is pretty simple and clear,” said Snohomish County Council member Dave Gossett, who helped bring the program to the county.
Patients simply show the prescription card at the time of purchase; 119 pharmacies accept the card.
Snohomish County is one of 41 counties nationally where the prescription discount program, offered through the National Association of Counties, is up and running. Nationally, nearly 43,000 people have used the card. The program is unrelated to the federal Medicaid drug discount card.
Another 300 counties are considering joining the program, said Andrew Goldschmidt, who has helped coordinate the program for the Washington, D.C.-based national organization.
National monitoring of purchases made with the card show that 86 percent of the time, “the card is offering the best price,” Goldschmidt said.
Fourteen percent of the time, the pharmacy sells the medication cheaper than is available through the plan.
However, participating pharmacies must give consumers the lower price, a requirement of their contract to participate in the program, he said.
In June, 665 prescriptions were filled in Snohomish County using the discount card. Last month, 1,497 people filled 3,047 prescriptions through the program.
Overall savings over retail price was about $12 per prescription for both months.
Program brochures have tear-off cards that can be used immediately. There’s no charge to the county or the consumer. The plan is administered by Caremark, the largest pharmacy benefit provider in the nation, Goldschmidt said
The cards are available at: local public libraries; the information desk at Alderwood mall; city halls in Mountlake Terrace, Brier, Mill Creek and Bothell; the Northshore and Edmonds senior centers; the Snohomish County Labor Temple and the Puget Sound Labor Agency; the Everett Chamber of Commerce, Bartell Drugs, the Snohomish Health District and Snohomish County’s Human Services Department.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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