County to offer free Rx coverage

VALPARAISO, Oct 08, 2008 (The Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CVS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- In a time of rising health care costs and disappearing insurance plans, the county has found a way to offer free prescription drug coverage to all its residents.

Porter County commissioners agreed Tuesday evening to apply for the coverage, which comes as part of its membership in the National Association of Counties.

The free coverage will be available to all residents, whether they already have other coverage, county insurance agent Mike Anton said.

Pharmacies are required to honor the program offering the best coverage, he said.

"It's really a very good program," county Commissioner John Evans said.

He said the county joined the association in May and asked Anton to look into the prescription plan. The concern was how it would be administered, he said, but Anton agreed to help the county.

Fifty-four of the state's 92 counties are already taking part in the program, Anton said. Among those is neighboring Lake County, where residents are experiencing savings of up to 25 percent over retail drug prices.

Membership in association costs the county $3,000 a year, said Leigh Westergren, of Anton Insurance.

Besides prescription drug coverage, the membership provides county officials with opportunities to take part in various seminars and grant writing programs, Anton said.

It likely will be Jan. 1 before the prescription drug coverage is made available to the public, he said.

Membership cards will be distributed, and there are no deadlines for joining, Westergren said.

Informational meetings likely will be held to provide interested residents with details, Anton said.

The drug coverage is provided by Caremark and will be accepted at a large number of pharmacies around the county, he said.

To see more of The Times, Munster, Ind., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nwitimes.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Times, Munster, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index