Wisconsin residents now have access to discount prescription drugs through the BadgerRx Gold program.

The program, which began Thursday, allows people to apply for a card that entitles them to 25 to 40 percent discounts on their perscription drugs.

"You can run to the corner drug store instead of having to get on the Internet and waiting for your prescription to come in the mail," said Allan Zimmerman, president and CEO of Navitus Health Solutions, which is working in a partnership with the state to run the BadgerRx Gold program.

"We feel it's the first program that's a public-private partnership," Zimmerman said. "We have built an innovative product."

The program is intended for the uninsured, those without prescription drug benefits, whose plans do not cover their medicine and individuals with high insurance costs.

"I think the uninsured and the underinsured have similar issues in terms of the price of their drugs," Zimmerman said. "The uninsured have the greatest gap between their prescription drug share and what they can afford."

Lea Acord, dean of the College of Nursing, agrees.

"I do think it's a good idea," Acord said. "It's a wonderful way to resolve the issue of the uninsured and the underinsured, and their numbers are growing."

There are about 300,000 Wisconsin residents with no health insurance, and 1.1 million without prescription drug coverage.

A similar program was started in 2003 with Navitus for state employees. That project saved the state $25 million in prescription drug costs in the first year alone.

BadgerRx Gold is "based on the highly successful plan we put in place with Navitus for state employees," Gov. Jim Doyle said in a press release. Doyle proposed this plan in his state of the state address in January. "This is not another drug discount card. It's about getting Wisconsin's physicians to recommend the most effective prescription drugs — not simply the cheapest."

The program will enhance safety for people buying prescription drugs, Zimmerman said. The program has a list of acceptable drugs people can get discounted.

People can enroll in the program either over the phone or on the Internet. It costs $25 per person annually, or $75 for families of four or more. Those who register online pay $20 per person and $70 for families.

About 500 people have enrolled in the program by phone, according to preliminary results, and many more have enrolled through the Internet, Zimmerman said.

"We expect that there's going to be a significant interest, and that's already been borne out over this first day, day and a half," Zimmerman said.

About two weeks after enrolling, participants receive a BadgerRx Gold card, which they can use at any of the over 700 participating pharmacies.

"The important aspects are the affordability, the safety and the access," Zimmerman said. "That's really what is going to make this a great program."

The Walgreen's pharmacy at North 16th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue will participate in the program, according to an employee who refused to give her full name. No customers have used a BadgerRx Gold card yet because the pharmacy just received the information on how to process BadgerRx prescriptions April 1, the employee said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 5 2005.