Altoona joins drug discount program
The City of Altoona is participating in My Healthy Hometown, a program that allows city residents to save an average of 24 percent on pharmacy prescriptions not covered by insurance.
The city is eligible to participate as a member municipality of the National League of Cities, which operates the program in cooperation with CVS Caremark, which administers it, Mayor Matt Pacifico said.
Most major pharmacies participate, according to a news release from the city and Pacifico, whose office worked with the league to start the program here.
City residents can obtain the free discount cards at the mayor’s office in City Hall, the Altoona Area Public Library and Blair Senior Services.
They can also print their own cards from the website at the following address: http://info.caremark.com/nlc. Click “START’ under “Print your card and start saving today.” Type “Altoona” in the search box and click. Click on the orange “City of Altoona, PA.” Click the button on top of the page that comes up.
Find a participating pharmacy by going again to http://info.caremark.com
/nlc. Under “Quick links,” click “Locate a Pharmacy.” A ZIP code-based search shows 33 participating drugstores within 10 miles of Altoona.
Cardholders cannot compound a program discount with an insurance discount on a particular prescription.
But they can choose a program discount in place of an insurance discount when the program discount is greater for that prescription, said Rasheeda Senger, senior associate for strategic partnerships for the League of Cities.
Those covered by Medicare Part D can’t use the card, according to Senger.
CVS Caremark administers the program for the league, according to Senger.
As program administrator, CVS Caremark works with participating pharmacies to negotiate the discounts, Senger said.
Factors that influence discounts include pharmacy locations and the amount of specific pharmaceuticals in stock in those locations, according to Senger.
The city is not paying to participate in the program, according to a fact sheet provided by the city.
There are no age or income restrictions and no limit to how many times cardholders can obtain discounts.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.