County Residents See More Than $5 Million in Savings; Had Pushed for Program as Comptroller 

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz noted the success of the Erie County Prescription Discount Card Program, a program he had recommended the County pursue in 2008 as County Comptroller and that ensures that local residents with little or no prescription coverage can obtain their medications at an affordable price. The program, administered by ProAct, Inc., has no cost to the participant or local government and allows for various degrees of savings on name brand and generic drugs. To date, Erie County residents have enjoyed more than $5 million in savings through the program.

“As I said when advocating for this program as Comptroller, more and more Americans are relying on prescription drugs to maintain their health while the price of such drugs is rising rapidly, making needed drugs financially unavailable,” said Poloncarz. “Government can and should help to make these drugs available to those who need them. Residents should thank former Legislator Cindy Locklear, who was the first to call for this program, as well as former County Executive Collins, who followed up on our recommendations. No one should go without needed medication because they can’t afford it, and thanks to this program they don’t have to. ”

The Erie County Discount Card Program covers every medication, and is accepted at most pharmacies within Erie County as well as at more than 60,000 pharmacies nationwide. The discount card program saves residents an average of 10-20% on their brand name medications and 20–70% on generics. Local pharmacies have filled more than 132,000 prescriptions in the just over two years that the program has been in existence, at an average savings of 54% per prescription, adding up to more than $5 million in savings to date.

Poloncarz continued, “The uninsured and underinsured are the people who most feel the effects of rising prescription drug costs, and are often forced to make difficult decisions about paying for essential medications or doing without them.  I encourage all County residents to take advantage of this program, especially those without prescription coverage, at no cost to themselves or the County.”

Participants in the program present a card at participating pharmacies to receive savings. Each vendor or pharmacy benefit manager negotiates discounts directly with participating drug store chains. Savings for the program have also been extended to include vision, hearing, LASIK services, a low cost dental coverage program, and some pet medications.

For more information regarding the Erie County Discount Card Program, visit  www.NYRxDiscountCard.com