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The cards may be picked up free of charge at most county offices, but since no registration is required the county is not tracking how many cards are handed out.
“If you go in and pay for your license, you can get the card there, too,” said Richard Cortese, Bell County commissioner for Precinct 1.
Three independent pharmacies in the county said customers had not used the cards yet in the stores. A pharmacist from Walgreens referred questions to corporate representatives.
Al Klaus, a pharmacist with Britt Drug Co. in Belton, said he felt like the plan would help few people while it “muddies the water” where he does business.
“If you don’t have insurance, I just go ahead and give that discount to you,” Klaus said. “It kind of ties the customer to you. Most independents have their own programs.”
With the discount cards, Klaus said he would still be giving discounts to customers but now they would have more loyalty to county politicians than the store.
Toby Young, a pharmacist at The Medicine Shoppe in Belton, said independent pharmacies generally try to assist people with no insurance to find ways to pay for prescriptions.
“There are programs available that provide (drugs at) little to no cost,” Young said.
Young said his frustration is the company that issues the card may be gathering and selling data.
“Cards like this have been around all along,” Young said. “They are free up front but somewhere along the line someone pays for it. The more people use it, the more money the company gets.”
Last week County Judge Jon Burrows reported a friend of his with no prescription drug coverage saved $25 on a prescription.
Bell County signed an agreement with the National Association of Counties (NACo) to distribute prescription discount cards that save consumers an average of 20 percent on prescription drug purchases.
In addition to prescription drug purchases the cards may be used for discounts on pet medications and diabetic supplies.
The card program is a service NACo offers to its member counties; 983 counties nationwide participate.
The program launched in 2004 as a 17-county pilot program in partnership with CVS/Caremark of Nashville, Tenn. In May 2005, the NACo board of directors made the program available to all member counties.
It has saved consumers more than $83 million on prescription drug purchases at local pharmacies since its inception, according to information provided by NACo.
More than 7.5 million prescriptions have been filled using the NACo discount card.
NACo partners with Caremark to administer the program. All discounts are negotiated directly with the pharmacies through CVS/Caremark. Neither NACo nor the participating counties receive any revenue from the program.
The NACo card may not be used in conjunction with other prescription drug insurance, but consumers with insurance are allowed to use the card to purchase prescriptions not covered by their insurance.