Erie County Now Provides Discount on Prescription Drugs
by Kate Songin WGRZ
May 6, 2010
BUFFALO, NY - 2 On Your Side has a Ways 2 Save tip that may have shown up in your mailbox sometime in the past few weeks. Discount cards were mailed out to Erie County residents last month to help defray the costs of prescription drugs to for all taxpayers at no cost.
Erie County Executive Chris Collins announced last month the partnership between Erie County and ProAct, Inc., a division of Kinney Drug, that is now allowing residents to receive a discount on perscription drugs as well as LASIK surgery, hearing products and services, and even pet medications, among other things. Residents can take their card to any local pharmacy to recieve and average of 35% off of these products.
"They always said, 'If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true'," said Collins. "This is exactly what it is meant to be...a discount card for people who don't otherwise have insurance."
There is no charge to taxpayers or to Erie County for this program, and is designed simply to provide coverage for those who are uninsured and underinsured.
"There are no enrollment forms to fill out, no membership fees, no income requirements, no restrictions on use and, most importantly, no cost to participants," said Dave Warner, president of ProAct, Inc.
Residents without insurance or those whose specific items are not currently covered by insurance programs will benefit from this program.
"We're always looking for ways to save taxpayers money, and when ProAct approached us with this program, it was a no brainer," continued Collins. "This is a great opportunity to help families who do not have adequate benefits to receive affordable prescriptions."
The County Executive's office received word Wednesday that taxpayers have saved about $20,000 in perscription costs, a 43% savings to-date.
ProAct, Inc. is used by 29 other counties in New York State and has proved to benefit people in those counties as well.
Most pharmacies in Erie County participate in the program. If you don't remember receiving this discount card in the mail, visit www.NYRxDiscountCard.com to print out a new card.