County Commissioners Jeff Haste, Nick DiFrancesco and George Hartwick III decided to offer this national program to Dauphin County residents to help them cope with the high price of prescription drugs under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo).

The NACo card is available now to anyone who requests one: there are no enrollment fees, age requirements or income limits. An estimated 90 percent of the pharmacies in the county will accept the NACo card, and more than 57,000 participating retail pharmacies will honor it nationwide.

These cards come at no cost to county taxpayers. They are made possible through an arrangement with NACo and a drug discount company known as Caremark Rx, which negotiates with pharmacies to offer a discount off retail prices. Caremark derives revenue through a small fee that the pharmacy pays on each transaction.

The commissioners emphasized that the plan is NOT insurance and consumers should check to see what pharmacies are participating.

The free discount prescription drug card now being offered by the Dauphin County Commissioners is available at these locations:

-Hamilton Health Center, 1821 Fulton St., in Harrisburg
-Wordsworth Academy, 1745 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg
-Arc of Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, 2569 Walnut St., Harrisburg
-Salvation Army's Social Services Office, 1122 Green St., Harrisburg
-Dauphin County Courthouse, Front and Market streets, Harrisburg, and
-Dauphin County Commissioners' Office, 2 S. Second St., Harrisburg