County to offer health cards
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 19, 2013 1:46 PM
Since November 2009, Wayne County residents have saved more than $292,000 through their participation in the free prescription discount drug card program offered by the National Association of Counties.
Beginning in February, the association will offer two additional health care discount cards. The programs are available because of Wayne County's membership in the association. None of them are insurance.
"One of them is the health discount program, that also provides discounts on prescriptions," Wayne County Human Resources Director Sue Guy said. "It also provides discounts on vision care, pre-paid labs, hearing, diabetic supplies and pre-paid diagnostic imaging.
"This is a free card, just as the prescription card is a free card. Those can be obtained from the human resources office."
Ms. Guy presented the information to Wayne County commissioners during their Tuesday meeting.
"The other program is the dental discount program," she said. "There is a charge attached to that. We are not going to be collecting for that in human resources, but we will have information on how that works.
"It costs $6.95 a month for an individual or $59 a year. It is $8.95 a month for families or $79 a year. So that is a tremendous savings. It covers routine oral care -- cleanings and that sort of thing -- and also provides some discounts on orthodontia which we think is really a neat thing to do."
The free prescription discount drug card is offered through a partnership with CVS Caremark. It is not an insurance program, and the discounts are only available at participating pharmacies.
Participants can save up to 75 percent off their prescriptions with an average savings of 24 percent. There are no forms to fill out, no age or income requirements and no medical condition restrictions.
The health discount program also is marketed by CVS Caremark.
That program also has no waiting periods, age or income requirements, forms to fill out, and no medical condition restrictions. There are also no annual limits placed on use.
The dental program is offered through the association's partnership with Careington International Corp.
The program can help residents save 5 to 50 percent on dental care, and 20 percent on orthodontics. According to the website, it can "complement health insurance plans or work with health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements."
Along with visiting the county Human Services offices, people may call 888-407-6226 for more information or visit the association website, www.naco.org.
The Human Resources office is located in room 108 at the Jeffreys Building, 134 N. John St.