El Paso County, Colorado announces Rx discount program for citizens

EXCITING NEWS FOR EL PASO COUNTY, CO RESIDENTS - Rx discounts provided for citizens

On Wed. July 1, 2009, El Paso County will launch a new Prescription Discount Program, sponsored by National Association of Counties (NACo). This program is free to El Paso County government and is of no additional cost to taxpayers. Cards will be available at County locations throughout the region. For additional information, visit http://www.elpasoco.com/ and click on the logo. The website will list participating distribution points as well as specific information on eligible prescriptions and pharmacies.


Over 80 local pharmacies will provide El Paso County citizens with a significant savings on medications. On Monday, June 29, El Paso County Officials will hold a news conference at the Fountain Valley Senior Center to announce the start up of a Countywide Prescription Discount Program sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The news conference will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Center’s multi-purpose room, located at 5745 Southmoor Drive in Fountain, CO. Expected attendees include elected officials, members of the business and health-based communities, school district representatives, pharmacy staff, Citizen Outreach Group (COG) and other County and Municipal partners, who will be available for interviews following the formal presentation.


Beginning July 1, the Prescription Discount Program will be available to all County residents regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. There is no cost to the county, county taxpayers or consumers to participate in the program, and no enrollment forms, membership fees or use restrictions apply. In addition to over 80 local participating pharmacies, the RX discount card is accepted at nearly 59,000 locations nationwide — offering card carriers savings on medications averaging approximately 23%. Many County facilities have been designated as distribution points for the prescription discount cards, including the Clerk & Recorder Offices, Treasurer’s Office, Assessor’s Office, Department of Human Services, Health Department and Pikes Peak Workforce Center, among others. A complete listing of participating pharmacies and discount card distribution locations can be found on the County website at http://www.elpasoco.com/.

“Given the sustained downturn in our local and national economy, coupled with increasing health care costs, we anticipate that the County’s Prescription Discount Program will bring immediate and substantial savings to many of our residents,” said County Commissioner Sallie Clark. “It’s been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and the purpose of this program is to ensure that more of our citizens are able to take advantage of prescribed medicines for treating their ailments and maintaining overall health.” Currently, there are an estimated 80,000 El Paso County residents who are uninsured or underinsured, and other residents may require medications that either are not covered or are “capped” by their existing health plans.
For more information about the County Prescription Discount Program, log onto https://webmail.elpasoco.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.elpasoco.com or call 520-6337 (MEDS).

Who: El Paso County Officials and Partner Agencies
What: News Conference to announce launch of County Prescription Discount Program
When/Where: 10:30 AM, June 29, Fountain Valley Senior Center, 5745 Southmoor Dr., Fountain, CO. Take exit 135 (south Academy exit) east to 85/87 then turn right (south) on 85/87 and another right onto Southmoor Dr.

FRIENDSHIPS AROUND THE FOUNTAIN

Sallie Clark, El Paso County Commissioner , Colorado Springs, Colorado
719-520-6413 sallieclark@elpasoco.com

Ten or twenty years from now when we look back on the events that made news in 2009, I suspect we’ll find that an event in Denver on April 30 should have made bigger headlines. The signing of State SB141 was barely mentioned by most of our local media. It’s not surprising; the legislature passes and the Governor signs many bills and only a handful make the front page. But I’m convinced that ten or twenty years from now, when we look back, we’ll view the signing of SB141 as a major milestone.

SB141 created the Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District. It marks an important turning point in local history – the day we all took joint responsibility for Fountain Creek. The District is a legal entity that stretches across both El Paso County and Pueblo County lines. It provides elected representatives in both counties a way to solve the long standing and complex problems that result when more and more homes and businesses use water in El Paso County and then release that water down Fountain Creek to be re-used in the Arkansas Valley.

In signing the bill, the Governor noted, “This represents an incredible collaborative accomplishment between two counties, over an extremely contentious issue.” In truth, it took years of negotiations. The sixty-page legislation signed into law last month was painstakingly written and rewritten. With legal assistance from Pueblo County and Colorado Springs Utilities, El Paso County’s own Assistant County Attorney Cole Emmons and Water Authority Manager Gary Barber worked many long days; attended many late night and early morning meetings and spent hours in consultation with lawyers and elected representatives throughout the Watershed area to come up with the final legislation.

No one said it would be easy, but when we see Fountain Creek transitioning from a public concern to valuable asset, it will be worth everything that went into making it happen. Just as Cherry Creek and Confluence Park are shining examples for the Denver area, Fountain Creek can become our own shining example for both Pueblo and El Paso Counties as envisioned by former Sen. Salazar when he established his “Crown Jewel” plan. The new district will receive $50 million in gradual funding through Colorado Springs Utilities payments for mitigation improvements of Fountain Creek as a result of the Southern Delivery System. In addition, it will now be eligible for additional grants as a State designated watershed authority.

This was truly a collaboration of 3-1/2 years of hard work—by El Paso and Pueblo County Commissioners and City Council Members from Pueblo and Colorado Springs, small cities and towns throughout the region from Palmer Lake to Manitou Springs to Fountain, environmental groups, Congressional representatives, the military, councils of governments, utilities from both Pueblo and Colorado Springs, water agencies from El Paso County and the Lower Arkansas Valley, and an extensive amount of participation of many others. Our Fountain Creek Visioning group met month after month and year after year to come up with a consensus on issues such as water quality, the environment, and land use planning, just to name a few. While it’s too long a list to mention all the players, the process—sometimes cooperative and sometimes contentious, provided a venue to work through ground breaking good-neighbor agreements. This relationship building exercise also had a positive impact on the future of water availability to our entire region.

And especially unique to Colorado’s political climate, this piece of legislation crossed party lines with Representative Marsha Looper (R-El Paso), Senator Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo) and Representative Sal Pace (D-Pueblo) carrying the bill. They reached across the aisle to assure that SB141 passed unanimously, just as County Commissioner Dennis Hisey (El Paso) and I, along with Commissioner Jeff Chostner (Pueblo) and former Pueblo Commissioner Loretta Kennedy, Vice Mayor Larry Small (Colorado Springs) and Councilwomen Barbara Vidmar and Vera Ortegon (Pueblo) had done to establish a strategic plan and draft the template language for the bill. All of those involved in this process deserve a special thanks for staying the course when it would have been easier to just walk away. As a result, I’m convinced that the commitment and collaboration that started years ago will continue and one day in the not terribly distant future that instead of being a liability, Fountain Creek will be a destination which includes parks, trails and most importantly a beautiful waterway as an asset to our partner communities.

For more information, visit http://www.fountain-crk.org/