The National League of Cities (NLC) honored the City of Athens, Tenn. earlier this month for reaching the significant milestone of saving residents more than $1/2 million on the cost of their prescriptions through the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program.
Residents of Athens who are without health insurance or have prescriptions not covered by insurance have saved $507,911 to-date on their prescriptions or an average of $13.35 on each prescription since the city began offering the program in 2009.
The city was recognized at the recent Small Cities Council Steering Committee meeting in Burleson, Texas, where NLC Executive Director Clarence Anthony made a special presentation to Athens councilmember William Bo Perkinson.
“NLC is pleased to recognize the City of Athens for helping residents save on the cost of their prescriptions through the city’s participation in the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program,” Anthony said. “The program is a great example of how NLC working with our member cities can directly benefit residents in a meaningful way.”
“The NLC Prescription Discount Card Program has been great for our residents and the savings really makes a difference, Perkinson said. “After the great initial program set-up by Mitch Moore, our city manager, and Rita Brown, our HR director, the program almost runs itself.”
Athens is the fourth city to reach the $1/2 million savings milestone, joining Detroit, Mich.; Monroe, N.C. and Clarksburg, W.Va.
Nationally, the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program is currently available in 545 NLC member cities across the country and has saved residents of those cities more than $13.5 million. The program provides an average savings of 23 percent off the retail price of prescriptions for residents without insurance or prescription not covered by insurance. The discount card is accepted at more than 60,000 participating retail pharmacy and may even be used for some pet medications.
There is no cost to the city to offer the program to residents. Participating cities are provided with customized discount cards with the city name and logo as well as sample press releases and a sample web page to promote the program and raise awareness among residents. Each month, participating cities receives a report from NLC with data on the savings to residents.
Details: To learn more about the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program or to sign up for the program, visit the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program or contact Marc Shapiro, Program Director, 202-626-3019 or e-mail: [email protected].
JUNE 20, 2014
By Marc Shapiro