WASHINGTON – Getting discounts on prescription drugs might be easier than you think.
Fairfax County is partnering with ProAct, to provide a prescription discount card for people with no health insurance.
The card also provides a discount on some drugs not covered by health insurance plans and some medicines for pets.
A ProAct card can cut drug prices by 10 to 70 percent, depending on the type of medicine and amount.
There are no income or eligibility requirements to use the card, and there is no registering or enrolling required.
Participants have to print out the card and take it to a participating pharmacy in the Fairfax County area.
While almost every pharmacy in Fairfax County participates in the ProAct Program, pharmacies across the nation will also honor the card.
Erison Rodriguez, a spokesman for New York based ProAct, says Fairfax County is the first county outside of New York state to jump onto their program. The county joined 3-4 weeks ago, he says.
Since then, many other counties in Virginia have inquired about joining, he says.
To date, no counties in Maryland and the District of Columbia do not participate in the ProAct program.
Mary Anderson, spokeswoman with Montgomery County in Maryland says they subscribe to the National Association of Counties’ prescription program.
She says Montgomery County was one of the first counties to sign up and has saved residents more than $20 million from December 2004 to June 2011.
Anderson says the county distributes the cards at libraries and local government offices. Cardholders get an average of 20 percent savings off the retail price of prescriptions.
In Fairfax County, officials are promoting the Pro-Act program through social service agencies and non-profits.
For more information on Fairfax County’s participation in the ProAct discount prescription program, follow this link.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report. Follow Kristi and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
