BISBEE — Cochise County residents will soon be able to use a county prescription card that allows a 15 to 35 percent savings on some drugs for themselves and even their pets in certain circumstances.

Vaira Harik, director of the Cochise County Health Department, received the Board of Supervisors’ stamp of approval during Tuesday’s meeting.

She said the card will benefit the underinsured and uninsured residents of the county the most. Residents who already have health insurance that includes prescription drug partial payment may be unable to take part in the program, unless a particular drug is not covered in their plans. Seniors on Medicare can only use the card to purchase drugs not covered.

“The objective of the program is to reduce the costs of prescription drugs for all county residents,” Harik said. “The NACO  (National Association of Counties) card will provide that help.”

Harik points out in a brief provided to the supervisors that research has shown that half of the U.S. population is taking prescription drugs for chronic health conditions; while many others fill prescriptions due to sudden injury or illness. The rising costs of prescription drugs and the economy in general indicate the families are having difficulty shouldering the burden.

This program comes at no cost to the residents, she emphasized.

Supervisor Pat Call said, “It’s almost too good to be true, but it isn’t.”

The supervisors and Harik have had discussions on it and found no hidden costs. Even the privacy of the people who sign up for it is protected under the program. No lists can be sold, so residents don’t have to worry about junk mail or e-mail.

“There is no enrollment form, no fee to participate,” Harik said. “Residents will be able to pick up their cards at locations around the county. There are no claim forms so the discount is immediate. And it can be used in any participating county in the nation that has the NACO card.”

The list of current pharmacies that are in the program are Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Safeway, Food City, Fry’s Food and Drug, Target, Tombstone Pharmacy, The Medicine Shoppe in Benson and the Douglas Health Mart.

The county cost will be $10,000 and is the current year’s budget.

Harik said insurance benefits services managers negotiate bulk pharmaceutical rates with manufacturers so costs are held down. Even with the discount everyone involved still makes money due to the high markups.

When someone presents the prescription card, they receive whatever the negotiated discount is for that drug, she added. If a resident’s pet is prescribed a human medication, that prescription is eligible for the discount with the card.

The county is currently under contract with an insurance benefits service manager for prescriptions for inmates at the county jail and in juvenile detention and it has shown to be a money-saver.

The cards will be available in about three months. In the meantime, plans are to inform the residents of the offer and get them signed up.

Two grant-funded health-related issues were also discussed — Tobacco Education and Prevention Program and Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention.

Due to economic hard times, the state has cut the Tobacco Prevention Program by half providing only $172,000 in funds, Harik said. The state has claimed the program has been working so well that cigarette sales have declined, causing the need for the cuts in funding.

Harik figured she still could maintain her staff that was formerly funded through the program by changing the focus from preventing tobacco use to preventing smoking. That will allow the initiation of a countywide program that attacks not only tobacco, but marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin. A search for “champions” in the schools and the Parent Teacher Associations can help provide good examples to students and could help curb the use of the substances as well as education programs.

Staff from the anti-smoking project will share duties with a new push on preventing teen pregnancies aimed at young men and boys considered to be at risk.

“Young men and boys are half of the problem with teen pregnancies. We will also take the opportunity to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases through education,” Harik added.

The project will go forward thanks to a $147,931 grant from the Arizona Department of Health.