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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date:. October 23, 2007 <br />Action Agenda , <br />Item No. --d _~ <br />SUBJECT: Proposal to Participate in the NACo Prescription Drug Card Program <br />DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Fact Sheet Nancy Coston, 245-2800 <br />Contract (Under Separate Cover) <br />PURPOSE: To consider a proposal for Orange County to enter into a contract to participate in <br />the NACo Prescription Drug Discount Card Program. <br />BACKGROUND: The National Association of Counties (NACo), through a partnership with <br />Caremark, provides a discount card that can be used by any uninsured person for a discount on <br />prescriptions costs. There is no cost to counties for participating in the program and the cards <br />are made available at no charge for persons to use. Orange County did investigate this <br />program several years ago; however it was new at the time and no North Carolina counties <br />were participating. Currently there are 48 counties in North Carolina participating in the <br />program, including Catawba, Lee, Person, Union and Wake. <br />The program provides persons presenting the card discounts averaging 20% of the retail costs <br />of the prescriptions but also guarantees that the lowest available rate is used. The discount <br />card does not apply to prescriptions that are covered by insurance, including Medicaid and <br />Medicare. <br />To participate in the program, Orange County would need to enter into a contract with Caremark <br />and NACo. After the contract is signed, a design for the card with either the County name or <br />County name and seal is finalized and the cards are then sent to the County. Since there is no <br />enrollment for this program, the card may be distributed at multiple sites within the County. <br />Currently, the time to receive the cards after submitting a contract is estimated to be 8-10 <br />weeks. When the County receives the cards, it will also receive information to use in publicizing <br />the program. <br />This discount card can assist persons without prescription coverage and is accepted by most <br />national pharmacies, including fourteen in Orange County. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There are no County costs related to implementing this program. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the contract to <br />implement the NACo Prescription Discount Card Program, authorize the Chair to sign the <br />contract after County Attorney review, and designate the Social Services Director as the contact <br />person for the contract. <br />