Partnership brings free medication discount card to PR
Lilliam Maldonado, executive director of the Municipal Legislators Association, offers details of the alliance Tuesday.
The Puerto Rico Municipal Legislators Association and America’s Drug Card have partnered to distribute the first 50,000 cards that offer significant discounts on drug payments throughout the island, and will be available for immediate use.
Obtaining the card does not require filling out an application or providing confidential information, partnership officials said Tuesday.
The card offers savings that fluctuate between 15 percent and 85 percent of the price of medications in Puerto Rico and the United States, including for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, obesity, infertility, arthritis and other conditions.
The card is accepted in pharmacies throughout the island, including Farmacias Aliadas, WalMart, Walgreens, CVS and many independents. The average savings range from 15 percent for brand name drugs to 55 percent for generic or bioequivalent medicines. The savings in some prescriptions can be up to 85 percent.
The card is accepted in more than 80 percent of pharmacies and other businesses in the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico.
“A few months ago we had an approach from the executives of the America’s Drug Card to bring this product to the island and we saw it as an opportunity to bring relief to many citizens and residents in Puerto Rico who have no medical plan or whose plan does not cover the payment of all their medicines,” said Reinaldo Castellanos, president of the Municipal Legislators Association.
The nonprofit provides training, counseling and support services to municipal legislators throughout Puerto Rico, with approximately 600 of these civil servants enrolled. The distribution of the drug discount card is one of the initiatives the group will drive in each town, at a time when the provision of health services is threatened by the economic crisis that the island has experienced for more than a decade, the group’s representatives said.
Meanwhile, America’s Drug Card, founded in 2009, is a member of National Benefit Builders Inc. Since its founding, America’s Drug Card has saved members more than a billion dollars in drug payments. National Benefit Builders Inc. maintains the highest ratings with different organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, representatives said.
“The National Benefit Builders Inc., through its discount drug card division, is proud of this alliance with the Municipal Legislators Association. This initiative will help distribute drug discount cards to citizens who do not have drug insurance. while allowing them to save on their prescription purchases,” said Michael Attardo, National Benefit Builders Inc.’s senior vice president of operations and administration.
