AUBURN - A discount prescription drug program promises to save Cayuga County residents between 10 and 50 percent on out-of-pocket drug costs.
Program cards were sent out to every household in the county Wednesday. The county is administering the service by ProAct, a subsidiary of Kinney Drugs.
The pharmacy benefit management company primarily works with employers to reduce prescription costs, representative Mike Maenza said. Cayuga will join seven other counties in various stages of participating in a discount drug program for residents.
“It's primarily for the uninsured,” Maenza said. “It can also be used by people who are insured but don't have coverage for certain medications.”
The savings will range from 10 to 50 percent, depending on the medication and the brand. It cannot be used toward a deductible or co-payment.
Nearly every pharmacy in the county is participating. County Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, urged residents to look at the information and card that arrives in their mailboxes.
“This is really something that they don't want to put in the waste basket,” Fearon said. “It's a really important program. We just want all our citizens who can benefit to take a look at it.”
The program comes with no cost to the county or residents. ProAct orchestrates the savings through third-party health insurance networks and participating pharmacies absorb the discounts, Maenza said.
Data from other counties where the program has been in place suggests the program gives incentive for more people to fill prescriptions who would otherwise go without. In the two years since the program began in St. Lawrence County in northern New York, the cards have been used 66,000 times and saved more than $1.5 million, Maenza said.
ProAct will report those usage statistics monthly to the county. However, the cards are used anonymously, so individual users are not tracked.
The benefit for ProAct and participating pharmacies is to drive up foot traffic and fill more prescriptions, Maenza said. The program also helps gain recognition for the ProAct name, he said.
The company works with counties to get the card distributed to the greatest number of people. In addition to Cayuga and St. Lawrence, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Madison Oswego, Lewis and Jefferson counties also have a discount program with ProAct.
Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net
The pharmacy benefit management company primarily works with employers to reduce prescription costs, representative Mike Maenza said. Cayuga will join seven other counties in various stages of participating in a discount drug program for residents.
“It's primarily for the uninsured,” Maenza said. “It can also be used by people who are insured but don't have coverage for certain medications.”
The savings will range from 10 to 50 percent, depending on the medication and the brand. It cannot be used toward a deductible or co-payment.
Nearly every pharmacy in the county is participating. County Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, urged residents to look at the information and card that arrives in their mailboxes.
“This is really something that they don't want to put in the waste basket,” Fearon said. “It's a really important program. We just want all our citizens who can benefit to take a look at it.”
The program comes with no cost to the county or residents. ProAct orchestrates the savings through third-party health insurance networks and participating pharmacies absorb the discounts, Maenza said.
Data from other counties where the program has been in place suggests the program gives incentive for more people to fill prescriptions who would otherwise go without. In the two years since the program began in St. Lawrence County in northern New York, the cards have been used 66,000 times and saved more than $1.5 million, Maenza said.
ProAct will report those usage statistics monthly to the county. However, the cards are used anonymously, so individual users are not tracked.
The benefit for ProAct and participating pharmacies is to drive up foot traffic and fill more prescriptions, Maenza said. The program also helps gain recognition for the ProAct name, he said.
The company works with counties to get the card distributed to the greatest number of people. In addition to Cayuga and St. Lawrence, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Madison Oswego, Lewis and Jefferson counties also have a discount program with ProAct.
Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net
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