Click the play button on the video window to the see the story
SARASOTA, FL -- Sarasota pharmacist Richard Calendine says it's becoming more and more difficult for his customers to afford the high cost of prescription drugs."Not only are the drug prices going up, but some people are losing their insurance coverage and insurance carriers are cutting down on drugs they cover," Calendine says.
Calendine hopes a new discount card is just what the doctor ordered. It's the Coast2Coast RX discount card. It claims to save patients as much as 65% on their prescriptions, with an average savings of 35%.
"We saw a need based on the economic situation and the cost of healthcare,” says Sarasota County Risk Manager Steve Olmstead.
Olmstead says the program is free, you don’t even have to sign up. And according to Coast2Coast, every major chain and most independent pharmacies now accept them.
"They simply give it to the pharmacist, the pharmacist runs it through their system and gives the discount which can be up to 35% or even greater," Olmstead says.
"Prices are really high on a lot of medications like cholesterol. If you have to pay cash it's usually $150 and that's pretty pricey," Calendine says.
We asked Calendine to compare the savings on some common prescription drugs, not available in a generic.
For a 30-day supply of Crestor, a common cholesterol drug, it costs $145 dollars. With the discount drug you save $28 or roughly 20%. On another common cholesterol drug Lipitor, the savings were $20 or about 18%. And for the allergy pill, Allegra-D, the card will save you $24 or about 15%.
The card is targeted to the unemployed and uninsured. If you have insurance, the discount with the card could give you a better discount.
One more bonus, you don't have to live in Sarasota County to get the discount. Anyone in Tampa Bay can flash this card and save.
"Its’ just another tool to help us save our clientèle absolutely and we can do to help out, we're more than happy to do it,” Calendine says.
To download a Coast2Coast RX Card click here. You can also pick them up at participating pharmacies in Sarasota County.
