Pharmacy Care Alliance gives out first prescription discounts

Early yesterday morning, two Medicare beneficiaries visited Kroger pharmacies in the Cincinnati area and received the first prescription discounts delivered by the Pharmacy Care Alliance under the Medicare prescription discount card program.

For a 30 day prescription for Zocor, one beneficiary paid 22 percent less than what he or she would have paid without the Pharmacy Care Alliance discount card, saving $29.46. Zocor is a brand-name cholesterol-lowering drug.

The other beneficiary received a 38 percent discount on a 30 day prescription for lisinopril, a generic drug used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. He or she paid $5.87 less than the pharmacy would have otherwise charged.

“I encourage seniors to learn more about this important new program, and the discounts available through the Pharmacy Care Alliance card and Medicare,” said Mary Ann Wagner, president and consumer health advisor for the Pharmacy Care Alliance. “I want every Medicare beneficiary to understand that savings can be substantial – they can potentially receive $600 from Medicare to use toward the cost of prescriptions.”

To locate a neighborhood network pharmacy, enrollees can contact the Pharmacy Care Alliance 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone at 1-800-PCA-7015 (1-800-722-7015.) (TTY users should call 1-866-735-8556.) Or, they can visit www.PCAcard.com . On the Web site, enrollees can access a consumer-friendly price check feature, enabling them to compare drug prices by pharmacy.