Pharmacy Discount Cards May Help Kentucky Seniors in the Absence of a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

Pharmacy discount cards sponsored by large pharmaceutical companies may help Kentucky seniors to cover the cost of their treatments, but a Medicare prescription drug benefit will provide the "only true relief," according to state lawmakers, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports. At least 12 pharmaceutical companies have established pharmacy discount cards for seniors nationwide. Some of the cards allow seniors to purchase prescription drugs at as much as a 40% discount, and others allow them to pay between $12 and $15 for a 30-day supply of a treatment, the Messenger-Inquirer reports. Some of the cards have an annual income cap, and others require Medicare enrollment, the Messenger-Inquirer reports. "Until something else comes up, here's something that's out there and something that works. ... These companies are doing this in the interim until we can get a senior prescription drug program in Medicare," state Sen. Dick Roeding (R), a pharmacist and chair of the state Senate Health and Welfare Senior Prescription Drug Subcommittee, said. The state established the subcommittee, which met for the first time in mid-August, to study the issue of prescription drug costs for the state's seniors. The subcommittee will release a report on the issue by November, the Messenger-Inquirer reports. Although pharmacy discount cards can reduce prescription drug costs, seniors should consult with their pharmacists before they enroll in a program because some cards "do not offer the true savings drug companies claim," according to the Messenger-Inquirer. About 158,000 Kentucky seniors have no prescription drug coverage, according to the state Legislative Research Commission (Carrico, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 9/9).