OSWEGO, NY – County residents received the Oswego County Prescription Discount Card in the mail in January.
By February, nearly 1,000 were saving money using the card. By the end of last month, that number had nearly doubled.
Residents received an active card, all ready to go, according to Mike Maenza of ProAct Inc., a division of Kinney Drugs. All they had to do is take the card to the pharmacy with their prescription “and start getting your savings,” he said.
It is an anonymous program. The cards were sent out randomly so the numbers won’t reflect anyone or any specific district.
According to Phil Church, Oswego County Administrator, there were 991 claims in February. The number jumped to 1,339 in March and to 1,546 in April. The total last month was 1,717.
The total savings since the program debuted is $84,449.55, he added.
“The average savings is about 33 percent off the cost of the prescriptions,” he said.
The card is accepted at most pharmacies, including dozens in Oswego County. The cards are also reportedly available at various county drug stores.
“I look for where these cards are being displayed. I don’t find them on display (at the drug store I go to),” said Legislator Jack Proud, chair of the health committee.
Legislator Barb Brown said she’s had similar problems. Some people have told her that they didn’t receive the card in the mail, as well, she noted.
“It was supposed to be direct mail to everybody in the county,” she said. “But I got people telling me they never got one. I was surprised at the number of people who told me. They’re from Sandy Creek, Fulton, Mexico and Central Square.”
Legislator Margaret Kastler noted maybe the stores have run out of cards and should get some more.
Legislator Morris Sorbello noted that a local drug store, not affiliated with a chain, was able to sell some prescriptions at a lower cost than what some people were paying with the card at chain stores.
Church said that is a positive side affect of the card program; more people are talking with their pharmacists about their drugs and the different costs.
“People are learning about manufacturers’ discounts and other things they might not know about,” he said.
There is no charge for residents or the county to belong to this program.
One card is good for an entire family and can be used nationwide.
There is no membership fee.
ProAct has been working with the pharmacists to help them be able to answer many of the questions customers might have.
Participating pharmacies include Rite Aid, Eckerd, Hargraves, Kinney, Kmart, Wal-Mart, P&C, Price Chopper, and several more.
Or people can call the ProAct helpdesk (1-877-776-2285), for more information.
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Sounds like a good thing. I did not recieve a card.