PRESCRIPTION FILLED
Bookmark & share: digg del.icio.us Reddit
Reader Comments (below)
story tools
sponsored by
BY MATTHEW STONE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 04/17/2009

AUGUSTA -- Maine's capital is joining a national program to offer residents -- and their pets -- discounts on prescription drugs.

Augusta will be the first Maine city to take part in a prescription drug discount program offered through the National League of Cities.

City officials announced Augusta's participation in the Prescription Discount Card Program at a news conference Thursday at City Center.

"This will save some real money," Augusta Mayor Roger Katz said.

Residents with discount cards will be able to save an average of 20 percent off retail prescription drug prices, according to CVS Caremark, the company that administers the program.

While the cards are targeted at residents without health insurance and those who don't have prescription-drug coverage through their insurance, there are no restrictions on who can obtain a card.

"It's easy access and an easy program to pick up and use," said Brad Stone, regional vice president of sales for CVS Caremark.

Pharmacies can apply the discounts to generic drugs, brand-name drugs and pet medicines. And there's no limit on how many times a resident can use the card.

Augusta joins more than 90 cities and towns around the country that have implemented the discounts. In Maine, St. Agatha in Aroostook County has signed onto the initiative.

Augusta has enlisted nine city pharmacies as participants in the discount program, said Ellen Blair, t¼he city's human resources director. Participating pharmacies -- 59,000 of them nationally -- assume the program's cost by absorbing the discounts.

Pharmacies have prenegotiated prices and discounts through CVS Caremark, Christine Cramer, a company spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.

"It's not hard to imagine we could get $10,000 or $15,000 (in savings) for the residents of Augusta," City Manager William Bridgeo said.

Card holders should be residents, Katz said, but since the cards don't list holders' names, they can used by others.

"We're not going to keep that strict track of it," Katz said. "We're going to operate on the honor system."

If the program's reach expands beyond Augusta, so be it, Bridgeo said.

"There's no cost to us for this, there's no liability for us," he said. "We think it's great that city government can provide a positive, no-strings-attached benefit. If there's spillover to the surrounding communities, that's fine."

While offering discounts, Stone said, pharamacies stand to benefit by participating.

"I think the main motivation is it does bring traffic into their pharmacies," he said.

The city will regularly be able to gauge the discount program's popularity. Augusta will receive monthly printouts starting next month that show how many have used the card, how much they've saved and the average savings per prescription.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com

Bookmark and share this story: digg del.icio.us Reddit

Reader comments

Click here to view or add reader comments