Prescription card has saved Orleans County residents $645K in 5 years

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 May 2014 at 12:00 am

ALBION Five years ago Orleans County officials welcomed ProAct Inc. to the community so residents without health insurance or limited insurance could get a discount on prescriptions.

The program is free to residents and the county government. ProAct has saved county residents $645,000 in the five years on 21,000 prescriptions, company officials reported to the Legislature.

“That’s money going directly back into residents’ pockets which they can spend on other essentials,” Kayse Diamond, communications coordinator for ProAct, told county legislators on Wednesday.

The program saves residents an average of 36 percent on prescription drugs, and residents can even catch a break on medicine for their pets. The discounts tend to range from 10 percent to 20 percent off of brand drugs and 20 percent to 50 percent discounts on generic prescriptions.

“The program has been a godsend for us,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard.

ProAct is a subsidiary of Kinney Drugs. ProAct runs the program for free, with the hope it will boost foot traffic to its stores.

The company is seeing about a 20 percent drop in utilization of the prescription cards due to lower unemployment, Diamond said.

“More people are getting jobs with benefits,” she said.

The company signs up participating pharmacies that agree to offer the discounts. The company also runs a discount program for dental and eye care coverage.

For more information or to sign up for a card, click here.