Buncombe County rolls out new discount drug card

Posted on by Brian Postelle

Buncombe County residents (and even their pets) are now eligible for bigger discounts on prescription drugs, thanks to a new card issued by the county and the Florida-based Financial Marketing Concepts.

Put it on the card: Martin Dettelbach of Financial Marketing Concepts Inc. stands with Buncombe County Commissioners chair David Gantt to announce the county's new prescription discount card. Photo by Brian Postelle

The Coast2Coast Rx Card, introduced at a March 16 press conference, is available to all Buncombe County residents. Chief Marketing Officer Martin Dettelbach said cardholders can save an average of nearly 40 percent on prescription drugs at most Buncombe County pharmacies with the card.

The actual savings will depend on the prescription, but consumers should see an improvement over the 13 to 35 percent discounts provided by the county's previous discount card, BuncomeCountyRX.

"We urge anybody who has used a discount card in the past to look at our new card," said David Gantt, who chairs the county Board of Commissioners. "All you have to do is show us that you are a Buncombe County resident, and you can get this card."

The card can be used by the entire family and, Dettelbach confirmed, even for pet meds sold at pharmacies.

Although the card itself is free, residents will pay a disbursing fee of $5 to $10 (included in the cost of the prescription) each time they use it, said Dettelbach. That money will be shared by his company and buncombe county. The more total sales county residents generate, the higher the percentage that will go to Buncombe County.

That money, said Gantt, will be reinvested in county health-care programs. And the announcement, he continued, should be welcome news at a time when people are worried about health care and the cost of prescriptions.

"We have a problem, you all know, with [the cost of] prescription drugs in the U.S.," noted Gantt, adding, "We're not going to wait for the federal [plan]."

To provide the benefits, the Florida firm partnered with WellDyneRx, which negotiated the discounts with pharmacies. These businesses (mostly national chains, according to Dettelbach), agreed to lower costs in order to attract more customers.

WellDyne, he said, "just drove a harder bargain with the pharmacy chains."

The Coast2Coast Rx card is available at all county offices, libraries and participating pharmacies.

To find participating local pharmacies, go to coast2coastrx.com/buncombenc.

 

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One thought on “Buncombe County rolls out new discount drug card”

  1. Robert

    Is there a way to compare this card’s drug prices with what I get using my RxDrugCard?

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