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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Friday, March 28, 2008 |
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Locals
receive help with discount drug program By ROGER MEISSEN The Fulton Sun
The Callaway County United Way has joined forces with 550 other United Way agencies across the country to offer FamilyWize prescription drug discount cards. The cards aim to aid individuals and families who cannot afford to buy their medicine or don't have insurance that covers prescriptions. “We know prescription costs are a big problem all across the country and our county is no exception,” said Kathy Richey Liddle, executive director of the Callaway County United Way. “Too many people have either no coverage or need medicines not covered by their insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or VA benefits.” “We're just trying to address that acute need.” Cards are available at local pharmacies including Red Cross Pharmacy (formerly Dunavant's Drugs), Sault's, Wal-Mart and Gerbes. They will also be accepted at Walgreens when it opens. More than 53,000 pharmacies nationwide participate. Pharmacies voluntarily choose whether they will be involved in the program. The savings are because participating pharmacies agree to offer prices that are close to those available to large insurance companies and employers, according to the FamilyWize Web site. “The local pharmacies that are participating certainly are part of this,” Miller Harris said “They don't have to do this and I'm sure it's eating into their profits.” “But they're acting on a grander scale as partners all across the country to provide prescriptions to those that are disadvantaged with no prescription coverage.” A ticker on FamilyWize's Web site says the program has saved more than $9,000,000 already and hopes to help people save $100,000,000 in its first five years. Any person can use the card and the United Way reports an average saving of 35 percent on medications. All printing and shipping costs for the cards were donated and the only cost to the United Way involves distributing and displaying the cards in individual pharmacies. “We're doing this because we thought with just the cost of holders and displays to put cards in we can help people who don't have health insurance or those folks with Medicaire or VA benefits,” Miller Harris said. “We can cover some of that gap.” |
