Discount cards will offer average savings of 20 percent off retail price

Bonham — Fannin County will soon be introducing a discount card program to help consumers cope with the high price of prescription drugs. The county has signed a contract to make free prescription drug discount cards available under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo) that offers average savings of 20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs.

The cards, which will be available November 2007, may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income, or existing health coverage. An estimated 100 percent of the county’s pharmacies will accept the NACo card, and a national network of more than 57,000 participating retail pharmacies also will honor it.

“The NACo prescription discount card will offer significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of our county, and even those fortunate to have prescription coverage may use the card to save money on drugs that are not covered by their health plan,” said Michael Uhl, Fannin County Purchasing Agent. “Residents do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to be eligible for this program.”

There will be no cost to county taxpayers for NACo and Fannin County to make these money-saving cards available to residents. A future announcement will specify how and when residents may obtain the cards.

“Using the NACo prescription discount card is easy,” said Michael Uhl. “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 Caremark Rx, Inc.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,066 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org.