As prescription drug prices continue to rise, the uninsured are not the only ones facing higher costs.

A solution DeKalb County offers to this problem is providing drug discount cards, even to those who are insured.

DeKalb County Coordinator Mary Supple said residents can compare their prescription drug card to this program and see which gets better savings. Residents cannot get the discount in addition to what their insurance covers.

The card often has better savings than prescription drug cards, with an average of 15 to 20 percent off the original price, Supple said.

Any DeKalb resident who lives in the city nine months out of the year can receive the card, regardless of age.

“Most pharmacies let [NIU] students use them,” Supple said.

However, Supple said the card is not available at the NIU Health Services on campus due to direct competition.

A few other independent pharmacies in DeKalb County also do not offer the program.

Joe Smulkai, pharmacist at Medical Arts Pharmacy, 625 Bethany Road, said the biggest discounts are often from generic drugs. Brand name drugs are usually so expensive the retailer rarely marks them up, so the cards only get about a 1 to 1.5 percent discount, he said.

The program received mixed reactions from pharmacists.

Supple said pharmacists from Jewel-Osco have told her that they have a lot of people using the card.

Smulkai said he has seen a decline in program participants since Medicare kicked in.

Bob Tamblyn, pharmacist at Medicine Shoppe, 810 S. Fourth St., said very few people use the card because so many people already have Medicare Part D, which offers little savings.

The program was created by the National Association of Counties and is also associated with Caremark.

Pharmacies negotiate with the manufacturers to get the discount, Smulkai said.

Other locations where the drug discount cards are available, besides the pharmacies who participate in the program, are Wal-Mart, 2300 Sycamore Road; Target, 2555 Sycamore Road and the DeKalb County Board Office, 200 N. Main St.

There are no fees or applications needed to obtain the card.