Minnesota Drug Card Media Center

Minnesota residents have a new option for receiving discounts on their prescription medications.

The Minnesota Drug Card Program was begun by the United Networks of America, a provider of managed care products and services. The card is expected to provide average savings of about 30 percent off retail prices.

Minnesotans can download a card at www.MinnesotaDrugCard.com.

Participating pharmacies include Kmart, Cub, CVS, Hy-Vee, Walgreens and Shopko.

The program was launched to help uninsured and underinsured Minnesota residents afford their prescription medications, according to the UNA. The program can also be used by people who have health insurance coverage with no prescription benefits. People who have prescription coverage can use the program for non-formulary or non-covered drugs.

The Minnesota Drug Card can also be used by people who do not qualify for publicly funded programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, according to the UNA.

It can also be used by people who receive their medications through charity care providers such as 340B, a federally funded program that grants discounts to providers.

The program has no restrictions or participation requirements, according to the UNA. It is open to all residents. It has an "open forumulary," which means that all drugs are included, and has "on the fly enrollment," which means that no eligibility data is required to process a prescription.

Koochiching County also has a discount drug program, sponsored by the National Association of Counties, which offers average savings of about 20 percent.