We provide this free financial resource to visitors of the Community Room of SeniorSSuperStoreS in an effort to keep baby boomers, seniors and the elderly informed of matters that can affect their lifestyle.

A recent study by the U.S. General Accounting Office confirms the value of prescription drug discount cards and clearly indicates that discount cards provide consumers with significant savings on their medications. The study showed discount card savings as high as 55 percent in retail settings and 66 percent through mail order home service delivery compared to retail pharmacy prices without a discount card.

Discount cards were shown to have the greatest benefit for rural seniors. Consumers purchasing their medications in a rural retail setting are paying considerably more, sometimes up to three times more, than consumers using discount cards and are paying up to twice the amount as those consumers purchasing their drugs in urban retail settings, according to GAO, which used prices in a rural Georgia retail setting, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Seattle. For example, the average cost of Atenolol, which is used to treat high blood pressure, is $5.41 with a discount card. The same drug costs an average of $9.12 without using a discount card in the three urban retail settings, but it costs as much as $18.33 in a rural Georgia setting.

"The study emphasizes the value of discount cards for those persons who lack prescription drug coverage through their health insurance. Uninsured seniors should have access to a discount card program and the opportunity to immediately save money on their prescription drug needs," said LaVarne Burton, President of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).

According to the GAO study, conducted at the request of ranking House of Representative Democrats, the average discount card saves consumers 32 to 55 percent on generic medications and six to 32 percent on brand medications compared to average retail pharmacy prices without a discount card. For the entire basket of drugs surveyed, consumers save an average of 11 percent on drugs purchased through a discount card compared to retail pharmacy prices without the card.

For example, the GAO study found the average price for 30 tablets of the brand name drug Glucophage, which is used to treat diabetes, was $23.60 when purchased with a discount card, but without the card, the same 30 tablets cost an average of $28.96, or 18.51 percent more. Discount cards also provided overwhelming savings for generic drugs. Thirty tablets of the generic drug Metoprolol, which also treats high blood pressure, cost an average of $5.48 with a discount card, but is more than twice that, $12.08, without a discount card.

The GAO study indicates the savings, averaging 41 to 66 percent for generic medications and 13 to 43 percent for brand medications, are available through discount cards ordered via home service delivery from a mail order facility. For the drugs surveyed by the GAO, consumers saved an average of 19 percent on the market basket of drugs purchased via discount card mail order pharmacies compared to retail pharmacy prices.

"This study documents the value of discount cards and shows the immediate financial assistance these cards offer to consumers," Burton said. "On average, the prescription drugs surveyed in the GAO study were significantly less expensive when purchased using a discount card. Discount cards are a good first step in providing a drug benefit for consumers, especially the senior population. However, PCMA supports a funded Medicare drug benefit as the long term solution to this health care issue for seniors."

The GAO study further validates a survey conducted last summer by the PCMA that showed discount cards reduce brand drug prices by 10 to 15 percent and generic drug prices by 40 to 60 percent.

For more information about the GAO study and for a complete list of drug prices purchased via discount cards, retail pharmacy, mail order, and the Internet, please visit www.PCMAnet.org.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) represents managed care pharmacy, pharmacy benefits management companies (PBMs), and their health care partners in pharmaceutical care. PCMA serves its members and America's health care system by promoting education, legislation, practice standards, and research that foster quality, affordable pharmaceutical care. PCMA members serve more than 170 million covered lives and employ more than 12,000 pharmacists.