New York, NY – The city began offering a new card on Wednesday that lets people buy prescription drugs at big discounts, a step that could potentially increase drug sales and ease strains on the city’s public hospitals.
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Residents, tourists, commuters, and people who already have insurance, are all eligible for the new and free BigAppleRx cards, regardless of age, income, or citizenship, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters.
Discounts are expected to average 47 percent. Patients with diabetes could save as much as $831 a year on generic medicines while asthma sufferers could save $667 on inhaler drugs.
About 2,000 drugstores in New York City — 85 percent of the total — are willing to offer the discounts in return for attracting more business from shoppers who also might buy other items while in the stores, Bloomberg said.
Online: http://www.bigapplerx.com/
Does anyone know how to go about getting the card? Will it also discount over-the-counter drugs?
where does one gets this card?
Is there any info on how to apply?
This sounds like a big deal, but there are 1,000 free drug discount cards you can download off the internet.
Just do a google search for free drug prescription card
This is not costing the city anything. in fact, they probably get a piece of each purchase.
try getting a card at target….
The discount cards can be downloaded at http://www.bigapplerx.com or obtained by calling 311, the city’s help line.
Most of the big yiddeshe mosdos already offer similiar “discount” cards but in reality, the don’t offer much in real savings since you can get the same discounts in a variety of other ways.
I thought this city was broke… why pay for the cards, even if it “isnt costing them anything”. TANSTAAFL- there aint no such thing as a free lunch. How much of our tax dollars are going towards this? I am a bit surprised at the number of comments on how to apply for the card, when there are just as many crying out about funding cuts and/or tax increases….
Do they have a card for cigarettes ?
It’s good for consumers of big chain pharmacies like CVS. Truth is that most generic medications are so cheap you can negotiate deal with an independent pharmacy to get a discount. Most independents hate discount cards like this, so they would give you a cheaper price if you didn’t use the card.
Here, in Great Britain, most people get all their drugs for free. By “most people” I mean every person living in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.
In England the cost of each item prescribed by a family physician is £7.40. Medication prescribed at a NHS hospital, or at a NHS walk-in center is free of charge, as a contraceptives, or medications personally administered by a family physician.
If the patient is aged under 16, or is 60 years or more he/she gets all prescribed medicines free of charge. If a patient outside those parameters is being prescribed four or more items in any three-month period, he/she can buy an annual “season ticket” costing £104, which will cover the cost of all prescribed items..
People suffering from diabetes or undergoing dialysis (R”L) are also exempted from payment for any medical supples relating to their conditions.
So, while New York discount cards for medications are a huge step in the right direction, socialized medicine in Britain still has many, many advantages.
please also note that most pharmaceutical companies offer a patient assistance program. you can look for it on their websites. if you meet their eligibility requirements you can get your meds for free or very close to it.
spread the word.
Does it apply to medical marijuana in Jersey?