How United Way helped Nashville families save millions of dollars on medicine

Pricey prescriptions can easily sink family budgets but United Way of Metropolitan Nashville has helped connect more than 52,000 people to a discount program that's saved them millions of dollars in prescription costs.

Families around Nashville have saved about $7 million at the pharmacy through United Way's decade-long partnership with FamilyWize, a for-profit company that offers prescription discount cards. People using the program in Rutherford and Cannon counties have saved an additional $836,146, according to an estimate from United Way officials.

There's an increase in demand for United Way's services because of dramatic changes in population and cost of living in the Nashville area, said Erica Mitchell, senior director of community impact at United Way of Metropolitan Nashville. 

"Many people go without much-needed medication because they can't afford it," said Mitchell. 

Some people learn about the prescription discount program — which is open to anyone, regardless of income or whether insurance status — by calling United Way's 211 helpline. Often there's a 40-percent savings.

A United way referral specialist checked the price of an insulin for a woman who called about the cost of her son's prescription, and found that it would be $88 compared to the $400 she was paying, said Mitchell.

"With her limited income, it was a struggle each month to make sure he got the medication he needed, and sometimes he went without," said Mitchell. 

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The company, based in Bethlehem, Penn., negotiates discounts with pharmacies and gets a portion of the processing fee that is embedded in the price of the prescription. The discount is passed on to shoppers. United Way does not get paid for the cards it helps distribute. 

Either a card or the FamilyWize app will get people lower prices on brand name and generic prescriptions.

Mitchell said it's a "valuable resource" and that United Way chooses to promote it over other discount programs because "all of the savings are passed on to the customer."

People can use the card for the FamilyWize app to get lower prices on brand name and generic prescriptions at more than 60,000 pharmacies across the country, including CVS, KMart, Walgreens, Walmart and independent pharmacies.

Even with insurance, FamilyWize could help people get lower prices on medicines that are not covered by insurance or if the person hit their coverage limit.

Reach Holly Fletcher at hfletcher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8287 and on Twitter @hollyfletcher.

For more information about FamilyWize go to: https://familywize.org/