San Bernardino County joins for-profit discount drug prescription program

San Bernardino County is the latest to sign up for a nationwide discount prescription program that could save users millions of dollars. It could earn the county a little on the side too.

The Coast2Coast Rx prescription drug program allows insured or uninsured people in the county to save up to 80 percent on some prescriptions, 50 percent on dental and vision equipment and even breaks on some veterinary services.

"With the fact that the economy has been so difficult, this is an attempt to address those gaps," said San Bernardino County Chair Josie Gonzales at a news conference on Wednesday. “Young families, seniors on a fixed income [...] many times [they] have to decide between eating and getting prescriptions filled.”

In return for its endorsement of the program, the county earns a little more than a dollar on each prescription filled using the free discount card. The county will plow that money into its Healthy Communities program.

“The county gets back $1.25 per paid prescription... so as we get paid, that actually makes more money per prescription than we do."

That's according to Martin Dettelbach, a spokesman with Financial Marketing Concepts, the Florida-based company behind Coast2Coast Rx. The money it takes on comes out of an administrative (some might say "marketing") fee that the pharmacies pay for.

“So it’s more or less a marketing tool," said Dettelbach, "to help gain new clients and retain current customers as well. This is pharmacies paying to get the foot traffic and give up profit margin. That’s how the program works.”

Virtually every major pharmacy chain store, including Walgreens and CVS, is participating in the Coast2Coast program. So are many independent drugstores.

The Coast2Coast discount cards are available now to people in San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego and 15 other California counties.