Michigan Retailers Association Says New, Free Discount Card Program Enables Retailers to Help Consumers Save on Prescription Drugs

LANSING, MI--(Marketwire - December 4, 2008) - A new, statewide discount prescription drug card program called the Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card is now available to Michigan residents. The free program, available to all Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) members and their customers, is expected to provide savings averaging 30 percent on many prescription drugs.

There are no restrictions for receiving and using the card -- no income restrictions, no age limits and no applications to fill out. The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card is accepted at more than 50,000 national and regional pharmacies in Michigan and around the country. Participating pharmacies include Kmart Pharmacy, Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreen's, and Kroger Pharmacy, as well as thousands of independent pharmacies.

"We're launching this program to assist Michigan retailers in an effort to help consumers reduce how much they pay for prescription drugs," said MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan. "Given the difficult economic times we're all facing, this program couldn't have come at a better time."

Members can download a card by visiting www.retailers.com. Anyone not able to access the website can call MRA at 800.366.3699.

The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card program was designed to help the uninsured and underinsured residents of Michigan afford their prescription medications. The program also can be used by people who have health insurance coverage with no prescription benefits, which is common in many health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans. In addition, people who have prescription coverage can use this program for non-formulary or non-covered drugs.

The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card also can be used by individuals who do not qualify for publicly funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. It also can be used by people who receive their medicines through charity care providers such as 340B, a federally funded program that grants discounts to providers, and need a drug that is not available to them.

"The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card is a simple solution to the confusing maze of discount programs that have appeared in recent years," said Hallan. "Many of these programs only cover certain drugs, charge fees and some have membership restrictions such as age and income requirements. Our card does not have such restrictions."

The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card has an "open formulary," which means that all drugs are included; has "on-the-fly enrollment," which means that no eligibility data are required to process a prescription; and everyone is eligible to participate in the program. Generally, consumers will receive the greatest discounts on generic drugs -- up to 75 percent off.

The Michigan Retailers Free Rx Card will not share, sell or distribute personal information for any reason. In addition to downloading a free card at www.retailers.com, consumers can search drug pricing and participating pharmacies at the website.

The Michigan Retailers Association is the unified voice of retailing in Michigan and the nation's largest state trade association of general merchandise retailers. It represents more than 5,000 members and their more than 12,000 stores.

Contact Information: Contact: Tom Scott 517.372.5656