The United Way and FamilyWize recently announced that a prescription drug discount card made possible by the organizations' partnership has saved people living and working in the Cape Girardeau County area more than $158,800 on prescription drug costs since 2007.

The FamilyWize prescription drug discount card is free and distributed by the United Way of Southeast Missouri. The card works as a coupon that can be reused every time someone fills a prescription. According to a news release, for those without insurance or who take medications that aren't covered by their insurance plan, the card lowers the cost of medicine by 35 percent or more.

The discount card can be used by everyone in the community, including those covered by Medicare and Medicaid and individuals who purchase their medications on a cash pay basis. It is currently accepted at 22 local pharmacies in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and more than 95 percent of pharmacies nationwide.

"We are excited to bring this opportunity to our community through the United Way system as a means to make necessary medicine affordable to everyone," said Nancy Jernigan, director of the United Way of Southeast Missouri.

Since its start in the fall of 2005, the discount card has saved individuals more than $311 million on prescription drugs nationwide, according to the FamilyWize website. That figure grows instantly every time the card is used because the savings are deducted from the purchase price at the point of sale.

"Everyone's budgets are being tightly balanced due to the increasing prices in so many areas of things that we use every day," Jernigan said. "It's hard when people have to choose between gas, food or medicine. It's great to be able to provide a resource such as this to give a free discount for medication to the community."

The card does not work as a rebate and there are no further steps for the customer to take except for presenting it at the pharmacy when they fill a prescription.

"It's definitely easy to use," said Cassandra Miller, a Cape Girardeau resident who uses the card. "You basically just print it and take it to the pharmacy with you. There is no hassle involved with it, and it's great that so many local pharmacies are willing to accept it."

The history of the card dates back to 2005 when Dan and Susan Barnes established the FamilyWize Community Service Partnership to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs for people who lived and worked in Lehigh Valley, Pa. Distribution of the cards was later coordinated by the local United Way and it quickly made its way to all 50 states.

The cards are not only free to the people who use them but also to the organizations and agencies that help distribute them. All of the funding for the program is provided by part of the dispensing fee that is included in the cost of medicines when a FamilyWize card is used and by reduced costs from the program sponsors.

"Kmart is one of the 22 pharmacies in the area that does accept the card," said Loretta Lents, pharmacy manager at Kmart in Cape Girardeau. "It really benefits the customers and saves them money, which they always seem very appreciative about."

More than 30,000 community and faith-based organizations, county agencies, doctors, pharmacies, companies and individuals across the country are now joined together in this partnership. Their goal is to reduce the cost of medicine for children, families and individuals by a billion dollars at the end of 2015.

More than 1,000 United Ways, America's Promise Alliance Partners and individual counties in all 50 states have volunteered to coordinate the distribution efforts to meet this goal.

The card can be obtained by visiting www.unitedwayofsemo.org and www.FamilyWize.org.