The cards are designed to help persons without prescription drug insurance get a discount from retail and mail-order pharmacies on their prescription medications.  There are hundreds of such cards currently on the market and they vary widely.  Some charge enrollment fees, while others charge none, some have age and income restrictions, others only require name and address.  Cards vary on the drugs covered, the amount of discount, and which pharmacies accept the cards.  But currently, discount card customers rarely have the information they need up-front to decide whether a card is a good deal and worth any monthly fees.

In shopping for the best prescription drug card, here are some things to look for:

• Prescription drug discount cards are available through a wide variety of sources and it may be to your advantage to have more than one.  The type of card you get often determines where you can use it.  Price club stores such as Sams or Costco give discounts to persons who pay their annual membership fee.  You also may receive a discount card as a benefit for membership in an association.  TREA Senior Citizens League supporters receive the MatureRx® prescription discount card as a free benefit.  Programs are available through large national Pharmacy Benefit Managers such as Merk Medco or Express Scripts.  Pfizer, GlaxcoSmithKline, Novartis and Eli Lilly & Co. drug companies all have recently launched their own programs.
• Look for cards that charge no or a very low enrollment fee.  The MatureRx® card is available at for free.  AARP members pay an $8 membership fee and an additional $15 per person for a prescription discount card.  Costco price club store offers discounts to Costco members who pay a $45 family annual fee.  The GSK Orange Card through GlascoSmithKline charges no fee, but annual income must be less than $26,000 (single) or $35,000 (couple).  Beware of drug cards that charge a high annual or monthly fee, like those hyped on late-night TV ads.  You may not be able to save enough to make it worth the extra fee.  You should be able to find several good discount cards either at no charge or for less than $25 per year.
• To find out which card gives you the best deal on the drugs you need, first find out what pharmacies accept the card you're considering.  Then call those pharmacies to ask for the price with the card discount on your drug.  Have a copy of your prescription with the dosage and quantity handy.  If you take more than one drug, you may find that one card offers you a better discount on one drug, another card offers the best discount on a second prescription.  Once you figure the amount you save with a specific card multiply by the number of times in one year you expect to refill those prescriptions.  Subtract your card fees, if any to determine your net savings.
• Once you have gotten the discount using your prescription drug card, ask if the pharmacy offers any additional senior discounts on top of that (some do). 

The Washington Post article on prescription drug cards specifically mentioned MatureRx® as offering one of the better values in prescription drug discount cards.  An example given stated that " a Rite Aid pharmacy on South Capitol Street in Washington D.C. had a retail price of $60.99 for 40 tablets of meclizine, generic drug for vertigo and motion sickness.  With the MatureRx® discount card, the price came down to $3.81-a 93.75% savings."  Drug prices however, can change considerably week by week.  You may find substantial savings on certain drugs and more modest savings on others.  But, be prepared-you may need to make a few calls.

A good resource to find information about drug discount programs and other resources for paying for your prescription drugs can be found on the web site of the Medicare Rights Center at www.medicarerights.org.

For more information about MatureRx cards, click here:  http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/100200.asp.

To read more on this topic, click on the following links.
"Proposal for Medicare Drug Discount Card Modified" http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/101424.asp
"MedicareRx Discount Card Sent Back to Drawing Board" http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/101304.asp

Source:  "Is the Right Drug in the Cards?" Bill Brubaker, The Washington Post, March 10, 2002.

March 2002