Ada County joins prescription medicine discount program - KTVB.com

Ada County precocious opted into the Live Healthy Discount Program, a work that counties crossed the state utilize. Ada County Commissioner Kendra Kenyon said having steadfast residents impacts not conscionable the individual, but the full assemblage arsenic well.

“The pandemic and present ostentation and escalating wellness attraction costs, I conscionable deliberation it's truthful important that radical get the intelligence wellness attraction and the aesculapian treatments that they need," Kenyon said. "I deliberation that this is truly a relation that assemblage members tin play and should play."

Commissioner Kenyon said she heard astir the Live Healthy Discount Program portion astatine a National Association of Counties (NACO) meeting. A large selling constituent is the outgo to taxpayers.

“It's really portion of our interest that we wage to beryllium a subordinate of NACO. So, it was astatine nary outgo to the county, to taxpayers,” Kenyon said.  

That’s right, the work comes astatine nary disbursal to taxation payers. Kenyon describes the request successful our assemblage close present arsenic "huge."

“Unfortunately, I deliberation Idaho has truly been down successful presumption of intelligence wellness recognition and services," Kenyon said. "We truly lacked for decades here."

Kenyon said she is passionate astir the taxable of creating affordable wellness services, that predates her enactment arsenic a region commissioner.

“This is the tract that I was in. I was a manager of therapy for a dual diagnosis hospital. I was successful backstage signifier for years. I worked with assorted hospitals here, and I conscionable truly spot a need," Kenyon said. "I spot radical struggling. I spot children struggling."

That was illustrated for Kenyon erstwhile she visited the Ada County Jail.

“When you spell done the jail, they speech to the aesculapian unit successful there. We're learning that anyplace from 70-80% of everyone that is successful our jailhouse has a cause oregon intoxicant addiction problem, oregon slump oregon anxiety, and they're self-medicating," Kenyon said. "So, present our jails are full, and past a batch of these folks, unfortunately, are going connected to prison, IDOC. So, it's conscionable spirals, and you know, it's bittersweet to spot that radical are not getting the assistance aboriginal connected erstwhile they need, and the outgo is exorbitant. So, we tin prevention a batch of money. I'm not definite wherefore we're not investing much upfront successful the services that we request to beryllium providing here."

To beryllium clear, the Live Healthy programme is not wellness insurance. The programme gives residents of Ada County access to 24/7 telemedicine services provided done the low-fee Health Discount Program. That includes unlimited calls with a clinician without a co-pay. 

Residents tin besides get an mean of 30% savings connected prescriptions for themselves and their pets done the no-cost discount program.

The Prescription Drug Discount Card comes astatine nary cost. The Health Discount Program, which again includes the nary co-pay telemedicine program, costs $5.95 a month.

Commissioner Kenyon believes investing successful programs similar this tin beryllium greatly beneficial connected the idiosyncratic and assemblage level.

“I deliberation if we tin beryllium proactive and we tin effort to assistance radical and they tin assistance themselves much upfront, you know, upstream, past we're not going to get successful the problems that we're seeing successful our community,” Kenyon said.   

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