Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Tonight on kval news, prescription drug help. Many people in Lane County with little or
no insurance are now getting help paying for the medicine they need. Good evening, I’m
David Walker and I’m Jennifer Winters. Thanks for joining us. The high cost of prescription
drugs is a serious concern nationwide especially for the uninsured or people underinsured.
But a rapidly growing Lane County program is making a difference. Kval’s, Tom Adams,
has our top story. Here’s a number that may not surprise you at all. One out of five
people, twenty percent in United States do not have prescription drug coverage. If you’re
among the uninsured though, this card may save you some money. I kind of feel like the
tooth fairy, you know, the prescription fairy. That’s why pharmacy manager, Ginny McDaniel,
at Walgreens is so fired up about the FamilyWize program. She has been offering the coupon
at her counter for the past three month. So there was no red tape, it was just a clean,
really there for the people program. In only six month, FamilyWize has picked up a lot
of steam. Total savings to Lane County clients surpass $38,000. Average savings for each
prescription is 28%. Nearly 2,600 discounts have been approved. We are seeing more and
more people losing their health insurance. Even if they keep their jobs. Cheryl Crumbley
says job number one is to reach out to the estimated 63,000 Lane County residents without
health insurance. We are seeing more and more people needing a little extra help with their
prescriptions, even those with insurance so I think the need is going to continue an long,
long time. “yah when your body doesn’t have melatonin…” McDaniel says she is
trying to do her part one customer at a time. The gentlemen couldn’t believe it, thought
I was joking because it came down to like twenty dollars, is what he ended up paying.
Providing prescription availability may be the best medicine after all. In Springfield,
Tom Adams, Kval News. The FamilyWize program has spread to nearly 800 UnitedWay chapters
across the country. To find out if you qualify and find a list of pharmacies involved go
to kval.com and click on news links.