Nassau offering new prescription plan

Nassau is offering a new and better drug prescription discount plan for residents.

Today, County Executive Edward Mangano is set to announce the new plan, which will begin this week with direct mailing to all Nassau households, county agencies and pharmacies.

The program developed by the county and ProAct Inc., a pharmacy management company, will use discount cards to help lower prescription drug costs for all residents, Mangano said.

“Participation could not be easier,” Mangano said.

“Simply present this card to receive discounts,” he said, adding there will be no enrollment forms, membership fees or other costs. The card will be accepted at more than 290 Nassau County pharmacies.

The new plan’s benefits will exceed the one started several years ago by previous county Comptroller Howard Weitzman.

Under the new plan, residents pay only the discount price of the drug at participating pharmacies. The old plan required an additional dispensing fee for the prescription filled. The new card can be used at 60,000 pharmacies nationwide, compared with 54,000 before. The average savings is 47 percent, compared to 20 percent in the old plan. ProAct will provide 24-hour help-desk support, compared to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays under the old plan. That help will be provided in 10 languages rather than just English and Spanish.

For more information, call 877-776-2285.