"The discount card will offer significant savings for the elderly, uninsured and underinsured residents of our great county. Residents do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to be eligible for the program. The county has completed the application to participate ... and expects the discount cards to be delivered in eight to 10 weeks," Rickenbacker said.
There are 26 participating pharmacies in Orangeburg County, with a national network of more than 57,000 participating retail pharmacies also honoring the discount card.
"The program is administered by a national contract with Caremark. Additional pharmacies can contact (us), and we'll provide them information on how to become part of this network," Orangeburg County Administrator Bill Clark said.
The cards will be distributed to all county offices and through the Orangeburg County Council on Aging, which also operates four satellite sites in Bowman, Vance, Springfield and North, along with the main Orangeburg site.
"The program began as a pilot project. To date, there have been more than $2.5 million in savings nationwide through this program in less than a year.
"Orangeburg County will be one of the first counties in our state to enroll its citizens in this program. In addition to the point of sale discount of 20 percent at the pharmacies, there is also a mail order program in connection with this that provides a 90-day supply of certain medications at discounts up to 50 percent," Clark said.
All residents have to do is present their prescription discount cards at a participating retail pharmacy when they fill or refill their prescriptions to either pay a discounted price or save an average of 20 percent off the pharmacy's regular retail price for prescription drugs.
There are no claim forms to fill out and no limit to the number of times the card can be used. Everyone in a family may use the same card; each person does not have to have an individual card.
Individuals can also use the card to get discounts on their pet's medications, but county officials said the elderly are the ones that are really being targeted for savings.
Orangeburg resident Geraldyne Zimmerman, 94, said, "My medicine bill is sky high, my income fixed, and I get a new prescription every time to go to the doctor. I know this program will help me and a lot of others, too."
OCCOA Chairman Dr. Everette Salley, 73, said escalating prescription drug costs are a problem for a lot of people, particularly the elderly. He lauded the Orangeburg County Council for its efforts to ease the financial burden.
"We at the Orangeburg County Council on Aging are striving to take care of our elderly. We're doing the best that we can, and this program is something else that you've done that's very good. We certainly appreciate what you've done at the County Council on Aging in this regard because this is a problem for a lot of people," Salley said.
OCCOA Director Sheryl Cartwright said, "This program will certainly help a lot of the people that aren't eligible for Medicaid yet and the people that don't have any insurance coverage. It's just a major problem everywhere for people having to choose between medications and necessities in life such as food, heat and electricity. This will certainly be a wonderful help to all those people."
"Orangeburg County Council and the ... Council on Aging have partnered probably going on 30 years now in bringing services and benefits to the citizens of Orangeburg County. This is something that we're doing now, and we hope that there will be some other programs and facilities that we'll be working with them on in the near future," Orangeburg County Councilman Clyde Livingston said.
Councilman Johnnie Wright said he was also proud to be part of the "team effort" that it took to provide for the county's senior and uninsured and underinsured populations.
Councilman Johnny Ravenell said his constituents were excited about the program and eager to see its launch, while Councilman Harry Wimberly said the county council stood united to make a better community and way of life for its senior residents.
"The cost of all medical care has been an issue with the National Association of Counties and the committee appointed to address problems that local counties could involve themselves in. That is how this prescription drug discount program came to be, and we'll have another announcement once we have the cards in another eight to 10 weeks," Clark said.
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