Lincoln County has partnered with the National Association of Counties to provide free prescription discount cards to county residents.
The NACo Prescription Discount Card provides discounts on popular prescription drugs
Speaking during the Oct. 18 meeting of the Lincoln County Commissioners, Commissioner Sheridan Bond, the program is aimed at the uninsured or those who have an insurance policy that doesn’t cover the full cost of their medications. Both families and individuals can use the card.
The Board of Commissioners conducted research on 22 commonly used drugs and found that the card reduced the price on the majority of them.
“It’s a chance to help people throughout the towns,” Bond said.
According to the NACo website, the discount is directly negotiated with participating pharmacies. Over 60,000 pharmacies participate in the program in more than 1400 counties.
NACo works with CVS Caremark to produce the card for its member counties, of which Lincoln County is one.
The new cards will be available at the Lincoln County Courthouse, town offices, and online.
County Administrator John O’Connell said the process of distributing the cards to towns was currently underway.
Bond said the Commissioners hope towns will pass out the cards when hearing welfare requests from town residents.
Bond said the card can be used throughout the country and comes at no direct cost to the taxpayer.
The Sheriff’s Department will be reimbursing TBRJ $1823.80.
“I should have caught that and made [the Commissioners] aware of that,” Sheriff Todd Brackett said.
The grant money, intended to improve communication abilities across the state, will be used by Lincoln County EMA to update radio systems. Due to FCC regulations, all radio systems must be changed from wideband to narrowband.
In other news, Assistant to the EMA Director Tod Hartung and LC EMA Finance and Administration head Kristin Draper met with Monhegan Island’s Deputy EMA Director Jessica Stevens and Third Assessor Matt Schweier to discuss emergency contingency plans for the island.
During a tour Oct. 7, Draper remarked on the island’s lack of emergency services.
“Upon arrival at the wharf on Monhegan, signs make it very clear that there is no emergency medical services available and limited fire suppression,” Draper wrote in a summary of the day’s events.
County Administrator John O’Connell informed the board that Lincoln County EMA will be seeking grant funds to build a helicopter landing pad or improve upon the island’s wharf to improve emergency services.