Discount card offers average savings to residents of 23 percent

Monroe, Ohio. January 3, 2012 – The City of Monroe today launched a program to help provide residents with some relief from the high cost of prescription medications. Through the program -- sponsored by the National League of Cities (NLC) -- the city is making free prescription discount cards available to city residents. The discount cards offer city residents an average of 23 percent savings off the retail price of prescription medications.

The NLC Prescription Discount Card can be used by all residents of the City of Monroe and has no restrictions based on a resident’s age, income level, or existing health coverage. The card can be used at approximately 19 pharmacies around the city, as well as at more than 60,000 participating retail pharmacies across the country.

“Given the current economic climate, where many people need to watch what they spend, we are happy to partner with the National League of Cities to make this prescription discount card available to our residents,” said Angela Wasson “This card helps residents who are completely uninsured, as well as residents who have insurance, but have specific medications that are not covered by their insurance. In both scenarios, residents experience significant savings on prescription medications not covered by health plans.”

Residents can obtain a free NLC Prescription Discount Card in a number of ways. They can print them from the Internet at www.caremark.com/nlc or can get a card at the following locations:  City Building, 233 South Main Street; Monroe Lending Library, 6 East Avenue; Monroe Fire Stations, 6262 Hamilton-Middletown Road, and 3 South Main Street; and the Public Works Department, 1000 Holman Avenue.  Residents can also use www.caremark.com/nlc to locate the nearest participating pharmacy or call toll-free at 1.888.620.1749 for assistance with the program.

“We’re pleased to have joined forces with the City of Monroe to help their residents maintain their health in a cost-effective way,” said Marc Shapiro, Program Director, National League of Cities. “By offering a health-focused program that provides significant cost savings and is easy to use, we are helping our member cities target an important need among their residents. We hope that the Prescription Discount Card program brings to residents welcome relief from the high cost of prescriptions.”

CVS Caremark administers the NLC Prescription Discount Card program.

About NLC

The National League of Cities (NLC) is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.  To learn more about NLC, go to www.nlc.org.