Fry’s launches prescription plan

Fry’s Food and Drug launched its Rx Advantage Program statewide on Wednesday. It provides discounts of up to 60 percent on prescriptions for people paying cash.

The program, which has been piloted in Tucson, addresses the compound problem of people without health insurance facing escalating prices for their prescription drugs, Fry’s spokesman Jim Nygren said.

To use it, Fry’s shoppers have to apply for a VIP card — the supermarket’s frequent shopper program — and use it when paying for prescriptions. The VIP card is free, Nygren said.

There are no claim forms to fill out when buying prescriptions, he said, and shoppers with prescription drug insurance can choose to use Rx Advantage for purchases if the discounted price would be less than their co-payment.

"We found that was often the case in Tucson, because even co-payments have been going up," Nygren said.

The Rx Advantage program is available at all Valley Fry’s stores.

The program is similar to those that have been available for a couple of years for Medicare recipients who do not have supplementary insurance to cover the cost of prescriptions. Those programs typically have a fee for use.

Walgreens, for example, charges $20 annually for its Medicare discount card. The average savings is 28 percent per prescription, said Wal- greens spokeswoman Tiffany Bruce.

At CVS, the annual fee for a drug discount program for seniors is $25.

The pharmacy chain also rebates $1 for every two prescriptions filled by anybody who has a CVS loyalty card, company spokesman Mike DeAngelis said.

Other supermarket chains such as Safeway and Bashas’ have prescription discount programs for the Medicare set, but do not charge a fee. Albertsons-Osco doesn’t, but it accepts rival cards.

Bashas’ rewards frequent shoppers of any age with a 10 percent discount on groceries for filling five prescriptions.

Low-income families can take advantage of a drug company-based prescription discount program, Together Rx Access.

But Fry’s appears to have the only pharmacy program in the Valley to offer discounts that apply to all ages and all income levels.

It may not have a lot of takers. Most people either have prescription drug coverage through their company’s health plans or are eligible for income-based or age-related programs, said Albertsons-Osco pharmacy spokeswoman Karen Ramos.

"Ninety-five percent of all the prescriptions we fill go through a third party of one kind or another," she said.