(Utica, NY – March 12, 2013) Residents in the Greater Utica area have saved $130,708 on prescription medicine costs through the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area and the FamilyWize Community Services Partnership. More than 1,500 people in the Greater Utica area have experienced the benefits of this partnership, which makes prescriptions more affordable for those without insurance or even those who have insurance that does not cover their medicine. The FamilyWize card comes at no cost to users or our local United Way.
Today, more than 50,000 community agencies, coordinated by nearly 1,000 participating United Ways and America’s Promise Alliance Partners in all 50 states coordinate local distribution of the free FamilyWize prescription discount cards, which lower the cost of medicine by up to 75%. $470 million was saved on the cost of medications across the country. On average, the FamilyWize card saves users $20 per prescription.
“In 2013, we’d like to see every person in our community who is unemployed, uninsured, has to buy medicine not covered by their health plan or government program, or is unable to get the medicine they need for any reason, get a FamilyWize card from our United Way,” said Brenda Episcopo, United Way Executive Director. “We also encourage them to see what other services we can refer them to—like food pantries, utility and housing assistance, and more. We know these are still hard times for many people and we’re here to help.”
Want to be a part of this program and save? Contact United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area for information by calling (315) 733-4691, emailing info@unitedwaygu.org, visiting www.familywize.org to download a card, or text “family” to 700700 to get a text version of the card.