[Dallas Gold]

My county (Dallas) just joined a nationwide program offering discounts on prescription drugs. It was on the news last night and in today's paper. The card is free to anyone. You simply print the card and take it to the pharmacy when you purchase your prescription. In some cases (not all) the discounts offered through this card are actually cheaper than discounts offered in prescription drug plans through your health insurance. I would guess that mail order options through health insurance are still the cheapest though.
The media is reporting you can also use this card for pet medications, though I doubt many veterinarians participate in this program.
I did a little checking around on the website:
http://www.coast2coastrx.com/
You type in your Zip Code, then type in the medication and a whole list of participating pharmacies in your area with pricing pops up. I can get my dog's tramadol andhydroxyzine capsules through this card, but I still need to run the costs against online pet pharmacies to see what is better. My veterinarian does price matching.
Anyway, I'm passing it on as a good price alternative for both humans and pets. You can print a card from the website (if your county participates) and just take it with you when you pay for the prescription.

 

[mylissyk]

I wonder who is funding it.

 

[Dallas Gold]

I wonder who is funding it

Good question and it isn't clear from reading the website. Our county was previously involved in a similar program that was funded by a bunch of pharmaceutical companies under the auspices of helping the uninsured/underinsured, yet they opened it to all citizens in the county. My guesstimate is this is another program run by pharmaceuticals to satisfy the government they are offering discounts to those who are uninsured, underinsured or below certain income levels. Just a guess though.

I did some research for personal medications and it appears our mail order pharmacy under our health insurance is still the cheapest. What is intriguing about this new option is that you can use it for pet prescriptions, which isn't an option under health insurance programs. In some cases pet medications are in the same dosages as human medications (tramadol, neurontin, hydroxyzine, neo/poly/dex drops come to mind) so you can use this card to get a discount if your vet won't price match but will write a prescription for you. Of course many online pet pharmacies have good deals too and you might find it cheaper online.

If you don't have prescription drug coverage insurance or are in the donut hole (medicare) then perhaps this discount card program is useful.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

hhhhmmm, I typed in my Toprol XL and it was not on their listing. My dr doesn't want me on the generics. Luckily, we have a pretty good rx plan with our insurance, but I'm sure for many this will be a god-send.

 

[lgnutah]

I was surprised when I entered one of our prescriptions, that Walmart does the $4 pricing on, it showed the WalMart Rx price being $18 (everyone, I hope, knows about the $4 deal for a 30 supply of a whole bunch of generic medicines)