Coos County has launched a discount card program to help consumers cope with the high price of prescription drugs.

The county, which announced the program Friday, is making free prescription drug discount cards available under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties that offers average savings of 20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs.

According to a press release issued Friday by commissioners John Griffith, Nikki Whitty and Gordon Ross, the cards can be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income, or existing health coverage, and will be accepted at most of the county’s pharmacies (see sidebar). A national network of more than 57,000 participating retail pharmacies also will honor the NACo prescription discount card.

“Coos County is proud to be one of the counties nationwide participating with NACo,” said Griffith. “The NACo prescription discount card offers significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of our county, and even those fortunate to have prescription coverage can use the card to save money on medicine that is not covered by their health plan. Residents do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to be eligible for this program.”

Cards will be available at most of the area pharmacies and county residents can call (877) 321-2652 or visit https://naco.advancerx.com for assistance with the program.

“Using the NACo prescription discount card is easy,” said Whitty. “Simply present it at a participating pharmacy. There is no enrollment form, no membership fee and no restrictions or limits on frequency of use. Cardholders and their family members may use the card any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance.”

The program is administered by Caremark. The plan is not insurance. Savings are only available at participating pharmacies.