Free Prescription Drug Discount Card from the National Association of Counties (NACO)

Offered through your County Government
The National Association of Counties (NACO) offers a free prescription drug discount card to residents of their member counties. Started as a pilot program in May 2005 with 17 counties, this successful benefit program is currently available to all member counties. NACO claims to have two-thirds of all counties in the United States as members, representing 80% of the national population. While county participation in the discount drug card is free, with no cost to the counties or their taxpayers, member counties must apply to participate.

No Fees and no Forms
For residents of participating counties, the card is completely free of charge. There are no forms to fill out, no income guidelines, no age restrictions and no restrictions relating to medical conditions. According to NACO, the card saves an average of 20 per cent off the retail price of the prescription drug. If you already have healthcare insurance with a prescription drug benefit, the program probably will not help you. But if you are among the millions of uninsured or underinsured, this card can help you to save some money on your prescriptions. NACO states that there are over 57,000 pharmacies nationwide that honor their card, so most people should have access to a participating outlet.

Using the Card
Finding myself in limbo with healthcare insurance, I decided to try it out. With no fees and no forms, I figured I didn't have much to lose by trying. I called our county clerk's office to find out which agency issued the cards. I found out that cards were distributed to some of the participating drug stores in the area, but I could also go to the County Government Center to pick one up. As promised, the card was free and I did not have to fill out any forms. I brought the card to a local Rite-Aid drug store to renew a prescription. When I picked it up, the bill displayed a retail cost of $41.99. Use of the card brought the price down to $35.45, a savings of $6.54, or about a15 per cent discount. Well, not as good as average prescription drug plans, but certainly better than nothing.

Find out if your County Participates
If you want to find out if your county participates in the prescription drug discount program, you can look it up on the NACO website, www.naco.org. On their home page, you will see a bar in the far right column that says "Prescription Drug Card Program." Click on the bar and on the following page you can click on "Find out what counties in your state participate in NACO's Prescription Drug Card Program." Then select your state from the drop-down menu and the participating counties will be listed.

Ask your County to Participate
If your county is not listed and you are interested in this program for yourself or for other county residents, check to see if your county is a NACO member. To do this, go to the left of the screen for the bar that reads "About Counties" and select "Find a County." The next screen will have a map of the United States as well as another drop-down menu with all the states listed. Select your state, and the counties will be listed alphabetically, indicating whether or not they are NACO members. If your county is a NACO member and does not participate in the prescription drug card program, you may want to contact your county leaders. The prescription drug discount card program in the county where I reside only came about by a local organization presenting the idea to the county legislature. County officials were only too happy to oblige, bringing in a program to save their constituents money on prescription drugs that did not cost them anything or raise taxes. It is a classic "win-win" situation.