One out of every five people in the United States has no prescription coverage.
Healthcare costs are one of the top concerns for people in our community, but a new free prescription card being distributed locally by United Way promises to help make medicine more affordable.
The free FamilyWize prescription drug discount cards will help individuals and families, regardless of income level or insurance coverage, who otherwise could not afford to buy the medicine they need.
United Way of the Wine Country is providing these cards to our community free-of-charge to everyone who needs one. There are no age restriction, no income restrictions, no limit on how many times you can use it and no waiting to get a card. The idea is to help people better afford the medications they need.
If you don't have health insurance, or you purchase medicine not covered by your insurance plan, this discount card could lower the cost of your medicine by an average of 35%.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people in our community to save on prescription drugs,” said Walter Collins, President & CEO of United Way of the Wine Country. “Too many people have insufficient or no prescription coverage, or need medications not covered by their insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or VA benefits.”
The FamilyWize prescription drug card will be distributed to individuals through local non-profit agencies, pharmacies, county and municipal offices, hospitals, clinics, schools, libraries and at the United Way offices.
Most pharmacies in the United States accept these prescription drug discount cards. Locally, there are more than 100 local pharmacies, including Long’s, Wal-greens, Raley’s, Safeway, Target, Wal-mart, Tuttle’s, Costco and more. A complete list of participating pharmacies and drug prices is available at www.familywize.com.
Partnering with FamilyWize and 550 other local United Ways from all 50 states, United Way of the Wine Country is striving to lower the cost of prescription medication for people who need help. This national partnership is saving over $1 million every month, with a goal of saving $100 million over the next five years.
The savings is made possible because of the more than 53,000 participating pharmacies nationwide have agreed to voluntarily accept prices for medications that are close to the prices they make available to large insurance companies and employers.
All other program costs, including materials, printing, shipping, programming, distribution, reporting, administration, network pharmacy services and customer service are provided by in-kind donations from the program sponsors and by part of the processing fee included in the cost of the medicine.
Printing for four million prescription cards was donated by two other Pennsylvania company, Independent Graphics of Pittston, Pennsylvania and Brown Printing of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Shipping is being donated by Fedex Express.
"It's truly amazing what we can accomplish when we all work together. So many people and organizations have joined together to make this possible," said Chanda Zirkelbach, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way.
