For Larimer County residents who use pricey prescription drugs, two new discount cards might be just what the doctor ordered.

The Larimer County Medical Society and the county government are both offering free prescription drug discount cards, which could mean big savings for un- or under-insured residents who get generic prescriptions.

The Medical Society’s card is available free at doctor’s offices and chambers of commerce.

Larimer County Commissioner Kathay Rennels said the county cards, which are purchased through the National Association of Counties, would be available next month. The cards are already paid for using the county’s dues to the national association, so there is no additional cost to county residents.

Rennels has been trying to start a county drug discount plan for three years.

“If you go into Wal-Mart or Kmart with a $4 dollar prescription, you don’t need it. But for some of these more expensive medications, you do, and I think most pharmacies are good at saying, ‘Let me see what you’ve got and we’ll get you the best price for it,’” she said.

The cards both offer discounts on generic prescription drugs—an average of 46 percent off with the medical society’s card, which is through Physician’s Rx Care, and 34 percent off with the county’s card, which is under the umbrella of Caremark. Brand-name drugs could cost up to 15 percent less.

The medical society’s card also offers discounts on some vision services, certain hearing products and up to 70 percent off on lab and diagnostic tests.

Both are free to everyone, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. The cards can’t be used along with health insurance, but for people with no prescription drug benefit, the cards can help patients get the medicine they need, said Clint Skutchan, director of the medical society.

He said Larimer doctors thought it was important to offer a discount plan through their professional society to help patients with expensive prescriptions.

“They don’t want patients to get something prescribed for them and not follow up with the medications,” he said. “Prescription affordability, medication affordability, isn’t a new problem. I think it’s just been exacerbated by all the other medical costs, and now those prescription costs are even more of an impediment.”

Pharmacists are a little more hesitant to embrace the discount cards, because ultimately, they cut into pharmacies’ own profits. A discount on a brand-name drug is not passed on to the manufacturer, for instance — the pharmacy just gets less money for it, said Vicki Einhellig, a pharmacist who co-owns Good Day Pharmacy, a family company with 10 Northern Colorado locations.

“Let’s say there is a prescription for high cholesterol that is a brand-name drug, and they are prescribed it and it costs $100 when they go into the pharmacy, and they use a discount card and it saves them $20,” she said. “What really would be a better cost savings measure would be to say, what other medications are available that would work for this person that are generic, that have been around for a while.”

She said prescription discount cards were more common before Congress added a prescription benefit to Medicare, which provides health care coverage for seniors. They faded away for a while but are now re-emerging because of high medical costs.

Skutchan said he started looking into the discount card before he heard of the county’s plan. He found out about Rennels’ plan the day the Physician’s Rx card showed up in the mail.

“I think we are trying to work in cooperation as much as possible, so we can get cards in as many people’s hands as possible,” he said.

The competing cards mean residents can have the best of both worlds, and carry both cards in their wallets. That might be a good idea because the discounts will not be the same for each.

Deb DeLay, with the Health District of Northern Larimer County, said the cards work like an insurance plan would, by offering negotiated discounts.

“It only covers certain medications, but there is not a magical list of what it will and won’t. It just varies by medication and varies by pharmacy, because they all charge different prices for the medications,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a very good discount, and can be 50-70 percent, and sometimes it’s just a dollar.”

Einhellig said the drug manufacturers don’t participate in the discount plans, and that’s why the savings can be so small.

“The pharmacy is providing the entire discount,” she said. “It’s great that they are organizing it, but it’s sort of on the backs of the pharmacies. There are other ways that there can be savings realized for people who have a fixed income or have other challenges.”

Still, the cards could help people who have no insurance, Rennels said.

“Drugs are so expensive, and there are so many people that are struggling with everything, that when you get down to $10 off a prescription, hey, it’s $10 off. Every dollar counts,” she said.