Savings card a partnership between CMAP, Health Plan Partners
The Rapides Foundation’s Cenla Medication Access Program has tapped into the resources of a national company that offers lower prices on many vital prescription medications. Through its partnership with Health Plan Partners, CMAP offers CMAP Extra, a prescription drug benefit card program available to everyone, regardless of age, income or residency.
While the CMAP Extra card can be most helpful to people without health insurance or prescription benefits, it also provides savings for people with insurance who have exceeded their policy limits, have high deductibles or who need medications that aren’t covered by their current insurance policies.
Enrolling in the program is simple: visit cmapextra.com, click on the Register tab and enter your name, address, phone number and email address. Then print out the CMAP Extra card. Next time you purchase prescriptions, show the card to your pharmacist. Your drug cost will be reduced automatically, and you pay only the reduced amount.
Most major pharmacies are in the network. Card members can find participating pharmacies and check drug prices online at the CMAP Extra website. The card covers both generic and brand prescriptions.
There are no registration or monthly program fees, and participants do not have to provide credit card information to participate. Since this program is not insurance, there are no pre-existing condition exclusions.
“This card is a great benefit for people who are caught in a situation where their medications are not covered, or they’re not eligible for our free prescription medication program,” said Wendy Roy, CMAP Program Director. “Not every prescription is covered, but if it is, we have seen some significant savings. We urge everyone to sign up for it.”
CMAP Extra is an additional service of CMAP, a Foundation-funded program that offers free or reduced-cost prescriptions to eligible clients. CMAP, which is offered statewide, is part of the Foundation’s Healthcare Access Initiative. The initiative recognizes that access to quality healthcare is important to reduce health disparities and improve health status for people in The Rapides Foundation service area.
The partnership with Health Plan Partners gives CMAP staff another resource to offer residents who are trying to reduce their medication costs. “This gives us an alternative for people who do not qualify for CMAP,” Roy said.
Health Plan Partners’ large membership base and participation from 60,000 network pharmacies allows it to provide up to 65 percent savings on generic medications and a 40 percent savings on brand and generic medications combined. CMAP Extra also offers Mail Order savings, which are even greater.
“We know many patients who tell us about the huge cost savings they are getting on different medications,” Roy said. “One patient recently told us her medications used to be around $300 a month. After she enrolled in CMAP Extra, the cost went down to $40. That’s huge.”
In a six-month period last year, the most recent reporting period, the 9,785 participants enrolled in CMAP Extra saved an average of 75 percent on their prescriptions.
“A little help can go a long way. Everyone can and should be enrolled in CMAP Extra,” Roy said.
Click the link to sign up for the CMAP Extra Card. For more information about CMAP, visit cmaprx.org.
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