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County signs contract for Rx program: Discount cards may be ready by April 1
[January 22, 2009]

County signs contract for Rx program: Discount cards may be ready by April 1


(The Dominion Post in Morgantown (WV) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 22--Monongalia County residents may be able to pick up their free prescription discount cards as early as April 1. The cards will allow the residents and their immediate families to receive medications at discounted rates.



The Monongalia County Commission voted Wednesday to sign a contract with the National Association of Counties (NACo) and CVS Caremark to become part of a nationwide discount-prescription program.

The prescription discount program does not cost Mon County or the county's residents anything.


"That's really a benefit for everyone in the county," Commissioner Bill Bartolo said.

Prescription discount cards are available to any Mon County residents, regardless of their age, income or current medical conditions.

Commissioner Bob Bell said the County Commission is planning to pass out the cards at the county's senior centers or at the malls.

Uninsured county residents will benefit from the program, they said, but so will people who have insurance but have no prescription coverage or need a prescription that is not covered in their plan.

County Administrator Diane DeMedici said NACo told the county it could take up to eight or 10 weeks to receive the prescription discount cards.

About 5,000 cards, which will feature Mon County's logo, will be sent to the county. The commission has the option of requesting additional cards after the first batch has been passed out.

Mon County is eligible to be a part of the discount prescription program because it is a member of NACo, an organization that represents county governments in Washington, D.C.

CVS Caremark, a health-care company based in Texas, negotiates the discounted prescription prices with the drug manufacturers and retail pharmacies.

More than 59,000 pharmacies participate in the program, including large chain pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens and Walmart.

Cardholders take their prescriptions and prescription discount cards to any participating pharmacy and are given a certain percentage off the price.

All commonly prescribed drugs are discounted, through a different discount was negotiated for each drug.

Cardholders can save between 13 percent and 34 percent on their prescriptions, with the average savings at 23 percent.

The prescription discount card could also save its users money on pet medicines, depending on the drug.

In other business:

The County Commission

received a letter from Sen. Jon Blair Hunter announcing the county would receive $7,000 as part of the 2009 Senate Community Participation Request.

The money will be used to purchase new kitchen equipment at Camp Muffly, Mon County's 4-H Camp, on Four-H Camp Road.

DeMedici said the county would receive some additional paperwork it needed to fill out before the funds were awarded.

According to Hunter's letter, it may take "several weeks or even months" for the county to receive the grant money because of the time it would take for the additional information to be processed.

Bader Gigenbach, Allen Colebank and Beth Mullen were reappointed to the Mon County Planning Commission.

The County Commission was asked to sign a resolution requiring public improvement contractors who are doing work for the county to have and implement a drug-free workplace policy.

Commission President Asel Kennedy said the County Commission would need more time to consider the request.

Mark Estlack, district manager for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, and Wayne Rebish, a representative for the state's construction workers, asked the County Commission to sign the resolution in response to Senate Bill 657, which went into effect July 1, 2008.

According to Senate Bill 657, contractors must conduct pre-employment drug tests of all employees and conduct random drug tests during employment.

Rebish said the legislation, which requires all public improvement contractors hired by the state to have and implement a drug-free workplace policy, does not include contractors hired by the county.

About 14 of West Virginia's 55 counties have signed the resolution, Estlack said.

The pair plans to present the resolution to the Legislature once the session begins in February, he said, in hopes of getting the current legislation amended to include everyone.

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Copyright (c) 2009, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
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