Ferndale

Ferndale offers free prescription discount cards

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

FERNDALE — The city launched a program last month that aims to offer residents without medical insurance some relief from the high cost of prescription drugs.

On June 8, the Ferndale City Council unanimously approved a resolution to participate in the National League of Cities and CVS Caremark’s discount card program. The cards, which offer average savings of 20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs, are now available for free to all city residents.

The discount cards have no restriction based on a resident’s age, income level or existing health coverage and can be used at approximately 100 pharmacies within five miles of the city, as well as at more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies across the country. They can be picked up at City Hall, 300 E. Nine Mile Road; the temporary Ferndale Public Library location, 642 E. Nine Mile Road; or the Kulick Community Center, 1201 Livernois St.

“This was a no-brainer for us,” said City Manager Bob Bruner. “It costs nothing for us to provide this service to our residents. It’s offered to all NLC members, so we wanted to make sure to take advantage of it.”

Added Recreation Director Julie Hall, “I definitely think it’s good to give people more options. This can be beneficial to everyone regardless of whether they have insurance or not.”

Bruner stressed that residents do not have to sign up or pay any membership fees to be part of the program. They simply have to pick up a card and show it when purchasing medication. The cards are especially helpful, he said, for people with a chronic illness whose prescriptions are not covered by their existing insurance.

Mayor Craig Covey said that city officials first found out about the program when they traveled to Orlando, Fla., last year for the annual NLC conference. Still, he emphasized that it is only one small tool for residents to use.

“This is not a panacea,” he said, “but it’s part of the patchwork that is our national health care system. It will give people a little bit of help. … However, until our country decides on a national health care policy, then it’s kind of every man — or woman — for himself out there.”

Ferndale is now one of 10 Michigan cities to participate in the NLC program, joining Detroit, Farmington Hills, Grosse Pointe Woods, Troy and others. There are currently about 250 participating cities nationwide.

With the economic recession in full swing, the timing for Ferndale to get on board with the program was ideal. “Everybody’s trying to help out during these tough times,” Hall said. “If we can provide an opportunity and it’s free of cost to our residents, then why not do it?”

For Covey, the program is also a good example of the city trying to provide a small boost to residents who may be struggling to get by right now.

“We try to be very nimble in our town,” he said. “It’s not the job of the city to provide health care, but we do our best to help our residents out in every way we can.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jSelweski@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5004.