Discount cards save thousands on drug costs

By BILL ALCORN

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Discount cards save thousands on drug costs

The cards are for everyone whose medicine is not covered by insurance, Medicaid or Medicare plans.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way says its free FamilyWize drug discount card saved local people nearly $34,000 on prescriptions the first three months it was offered.

From November 2007 through January 2008, the FamilyWize card was used to file 2,088 claims in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, for a total savings of $33,987. The average savings per prescription was 33.7 percent or $16.28, said JoAnn Stock, United Way director of resource development and marketing.

FamilyWize cards are primarily for people with no health insurance or prescription coverage and are valid for all family members living in the household.

The cards, however, can be used by everyone in the community who needs to buy medicine not covered by their insurance, Medicaid or Medicare plans. There is no fee for the card and no eligibility, age requirements, waiting periods, enrollment or paperwork. No personal information will be collected or shared, Stock said.

Participating area pharmacies are: CVS, BelPark, Giant Eagle, Hometown Pharmacy, K-Mart Pharmacy, Kids N Cures, Marcs Pharmacy, Medicine Shoppe, North Lima Pharmacy, Rite Aid, Sam’s Club, Target, The Medicine Place, Village Pharmacy, Walgreen and Wal-Mart.

More information, including a list of all participating pharmacies, discount drug prices and participating United Ways is available on the FamilyWize Web site at www.familywize.org.

Locally, cards are distributed through the United Way office, United Way-funded agencies, local pharmacies, physicians’ offices and health clinics. Also, cards can be downloaded from the United Way Web site at www.myunitedway.org.

The savings on the cost of the medicine is provided by the more than 53,000 participating local pharmacies that have agreed voluntarily to accept prices for medications that are close to the prices they make available to large insurance companies and employers, said Dan Barnes, co-chairman of the FamilyWize Partnership.

For more information about the program, or any local business, physician’s office or agency that can help distribute the cards, contact the United Way office at (330) 746-8494.

alcorn@vindy.com