Drugs at a discount

NassauRx card provides savings for the uninsured

By Daniella Adler

Well over a quarter of a million Nassau County residents have no health insurance or are under-insured, according to estimates by the office of the Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman. Yet, only about 20 percent of those people, about 60,000, take advantage of a program that grants users significant discounts on prescription medications.

The program is called NassauRx. It was instituted by Weitzman’s office in 2004. Four years later, with the economy floundering, it is an under-utilized opportunity for cash-strapped Long Islanders to save money on virtually every prescription at participating pharmacies.

“The beauty of the program is that it costs nothing,” said Jostyn Hernandez, assistant communications director for the comptroller’s office.

“There is no paid advertising,” he added, which may account for the program’s relative obscurity. An example of the steep discounts available to holders of the NassauRx card is the commonly prescribed drug Allegra, which costs between $85 and $115 at full retail. With the NassauRx card, uninsured users would pay only $60.

The program can be especially beneficial to senior citizens enrolled in Medicare Part D, who pay out of pocket for their prescription drugs.

The card is of little or no value to people with health insurance; it cannot be combined with insurance coverage or other discounts.

“If you have prescription coverage, then the Nassau card is pretty much useless,” explained Howard Friedman, a pharmacist at West Hempstead Pharmacy. “Our discounts are as good as that card or better. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred your insurance is better.”

The Five Towns Pharmacy offers discounts without a card, according to owner Saud Ansari. He considers the NassauRx card “just a gimmick.”

Hernandez disagrees. He points out that the card covers all prescription drugs, even those that are not covered by insurance.

George Winter, at the Ocean Chemists pharmacy in Oceanside, calls the NassauRx card “a great thing.” The card “is for someone who isn’t insured or someone whose drugs require prior authorization from insurance or are not covered by insurance,” he explained.

While the program is free to consumers, there is a cost to pharmacies to participate, which could explain why some, like Caliber Pharmacy in Hewlett, choose not to. A pharmacist there cited higher profit margins at chain pharmacies to explain why mom-and-pop stores find it difficult to offer similar discounts.

The NassauRx card is easy to obtain. No application form or registration is required; it is available regardless of age, income and marital status. The card can be printed directly off the Internet at www.caremark.com/nassaurx. Participating pharmacies are listed online. For more information, Long Island residents can also call toll-free 877-321-2652.