 | Kent Richardson graduated from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy in 1972. Kent has owned and operated Richardson's Pharmacy, a retail independent pharmacy, and Richardson's Medical, a Durable Medical Equipment and Oxygen company in Wichita, KS since 1973. He also owns Custom Rx, Inc., a compounding only pharmacy in Wichita, KS. Since 1988, Kent has served on the Board of Directors of PACE Alliance, the largest retail pharmacy-buying group in the United States, and is currently Vice Chairman of that organization. He has also served as President and Chairman of the American College of Apothecaries, an international professional association of pharmacists, and has served on their Board of Directors for 14 years. Kent holds memberships in the National Community Pharmacists Association, American Pharmaceutical Association and the Kansas Pharmacy Association and has served and is still serving on various committees for these organizations. His employment history includes serving as Marketing Director for a regional Prescription Benefit Management Company (PBM) for twelve years. For the last seven years he has been instrumental in the development of Right Choice Pharmacy, a totally unique concept in the cost-effective provision of maintenance prescriptions via community pharmacies. You can reach Kent Richardson at Richardson's Custom Rx Pharmacy (316) 721-2626 located at 3510 N. Ridge Rd. in Wichita, or visit their website at www.customrx.net |
Pharmaceuticals
2004-07-01 10:05:00
The Medicare Discount Card...
ANSWER: First of all, let's cut through the confusion. There is not just one discount card. There are 73 different cards approved by Medicare that are offered by a variety of insurance companies, HMOs, pharmaceutical companies and others who routinely administer prescription drug benefits. Some cards are available nationwide, while others only work in certain states or at particular pharmacies. All of the cards offer different discounts on different medications. To make matters worse, the companies can change which drugs they offer and the discounts they offer on the drugs at any time without any warning to cardholders.While companies can make as many changes as they wish, seniors have to choose one card and stick with it until the end of the year. Come December, they can decide to renew their current card or get a different card for 2005. The average American over age 65 takes an average of six prescription drugs. It's completely possible that seniors searching for the perfect discount card will not find a card that offers a discount on each of their six prescriptions. It's almost a guarantee that comparing the discounts available will be extremely difficult and frustrating. How am I supposed to make an informed decision?Talk to your pharmacist- Your pharmacist may be the only person you need to talk to in order to make an informed decision. Your pharmacist can tell you what cards are accepted at their pharmacy, give you specific details and benefits of those cards, and tell you why they chose to accept the cards they do. Compare Card Benefits of those Discount Cards accepted by your pharmacy- Compare all discount cards available at your pharmacy, looking for the one that covers most of your medications, or covers your most expensive medication. Also, make sure that you save enough to cover the initial cost of the discount card. If you still want more information on Discount Cards through Medicare- Contact Medicare to find out which discount cards are available and get information on each one. Ideally, get this info from the Web at http://www.medicare.gov/. You can call 1-800-MEDICARE, but many callers report waiting for more than 20 minutes to speak to anyone, or receiving a recorded message stating that all lines are full. Call the Company Offering the Discount Card- Each card/company has a toll-free number associated with it. Call this number and verify that the drugs and discounts are actually offered by the company. There have been numerous reports that information on the Medicare Web site is wrong or already outdated. Do I need to sign up for a card?If you are a lower income senior and you qualify for the $600 annual credit, there is no question that the discount cards will benefit you. If you don't qualify for the $600 annual credit, you will probably find that the savings are minimal on brand name prescriptions and there are little or no savings on generic drugs. If you receive retiree benefits from an employer or a union, or if you belong to a state funded drug program, you may not be eligible for the Medicare card and it probably won't save you much, if any, money on your medications anyway. So, the best advice is to find a pharmacy that gives you good prices on generic drugs and use the Medicare Discount Card for brand name prescriptions. A word of caution: Many folks who are eligible for these cards are receiving promotional materials for specific cards. Make sure that any card you choose has the Medicare-approved logo and is accepted by your pharmacy.
