Carroll residents filled 25,000 prescriptions using the county?s free drug discount card ? and some who benefited have four legs.
“First and foremost, it?s to help human residents, but hey, if it helps pet residents, that?s great, too,” said Andrew Goldschmidt, membership and marketing director for the National Association of Counties, which provides the prescription program free of cost to 770 counties nationwide, including Carroll, Baltimore and Howard counties.
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“It?s an emerging feature of the program.”
Since Commissioner Julia Gouge brought the program to Carroll in November 2005, residents have saved $332,000 on their medicine costs, with an average savings of 22 percent, according to Citizen Services Department statistics.
But the county hasn?t kept track of how many of those drugs were for dogs, cats and other animals, Citizen Services Director Jolene Sullivan said.
“However, we do hear from time to time that ?I did talk to my vet, and he prescribed a drug for my pet, and I used the card,? ” she said.
Sullivan said she knows of many seniors on fixed incomes “who couldn?t survive without having an animal” but also face the challenges of paying for food and medical care for their furry friends.
About 70 percent of animal drugs are human drugs, so a large overlap exists, Goldschmidt said.
NACO has watched this second use grow more popular, even if the organization doesn?t keep data on it.
“We?ve heard firsthand testimonials, like from a gentleman with a hyperactive dog who used it to buy Valium or for others who bought antibiotics or eye drops for their pets,” Goldschmidt said.
Nationally, residents have filled 3 million prescriptions using the discount drug card, saving more than $35 million.
