Wayne to discount drugs

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA — Wayne County will soon make free prescription drug discount cards available to all county residents.

The program is made possible through an agreement with the National Association of Counties (NACo) and offers savings of 22 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs.

“The card offers significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of the county,” said Brian Smith, chairman of the Wayne County Commissioners.

The card, which will be available in about 10 weeks, may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage, Smith said. Many pharmacies in the county will accept the card and more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies nationwide will honor it.

Residents do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to be eligible, he said.

There will be no cost to the county taxpayers and to Wayne County.

“A cardholder will simply present the card at a participating pharmacy,” Smith said. “There is no enrollment form, no membership fee and no restrictions or limits on frequency of use. Cardholders and their families may use the card any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance.”

The discount card program is administered by CVS Caremark, which has no relationship to the CVS stores.

NACo is the only national organization that represents county governments. NACo advocates for county governments before the federal government, assists counties in finding and sharing solutions through education and research and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

For more information about the card, visit www.naco.org or call the county commissioners at 570/253-5970.