Pharmacy discount card saves millions

CANTON — A prescription-drug discount program that got its start in St. Lawrence County in 2005 has saved residents $7.2 million since its inception.

“We believe many more could benefit,” ProAct communications specialist Terrance O’Neill said during a recent update to county legislators. “We’re trying to increase awareness.”

ProAct Inc., a division of Kinney Drugs, started the drug discount program when legislators were looking for a way to help uninsured residents pay for prescriptions.

Since then, the program has spread to 47 counties across the state, including Jefferson, Lewis, Franklin and Oswego.

The program saves the uninsured 10 percent to 20 percent on the full cash price of generic drugs and 10 percent to 70 percent on name-brand prescriptions as ProAct negotiates discounted prices with pharmacies, which set a minimum price.

Residents in all of the participating municipalities have saved a total of $76 million with an average savings of $29 per prescription, Mr. O’Neill said.

In St. Lawrence County, residents have filled 371,777 prescriptions since the program’s inception. Jefferson County residents have saved $7.15 million on 272,776 prescriptions. In Lewis County, the savings have been $2.1 million on 157,012 prescriptions.

The only county with more savings for residents than St. Lawrence County was Onondaga, which had a benefit of nearly $12 million. Jefferson County had the third-highest savings for residents in the state.