Prescription drug costs in Lincoln County are about to go downfor everyone.

Lincoln County supervisors on Monday received and are preparedto distribute discount cards expected to save consumers an averageof 22 percent on prescription drugs.

Supervisors have 30,000 of the cards, which are intended foreveryone living in the county, regardless of age, insurancecoverage or medical condition. There is no enrollment fee orpaperwork to fill out to receive the card, and one card willgenerate discounts for the whole family on most regularlyprescribed drugs.

“We don’t have any idea how many of our citizens don’t have sometype of health insurance or drug program, but if they’re having topay out of their pocket for their drugs, this can help get them adiscount,” said Lincoln County Administrator David Fields.

The discount cards may be picked up from each of the fivesupervisors at their county barns, the chancery clerk’s office atthe government complex or at the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamberof Commerce.

Supervisors will order more cards if the original complement of30,000 runs out. If anyone receives and loses a card, more will beavailable.

The discount cards are available through the NationalAssociation of Counties, a county government advocacy group thatLincoln County joined last year, in association with CVS Caremark,a pharmacy services provider. The cards come at no cost to thetaxpayer.

CVS Caremark and about 60,000 participating pharmaciesnationwide agree upon the discounts.

Most of the pharmacies in the Brookhaven area will accept thediscount cards, including Baker’s Pharmacy, Bane Drug, Fred’s,Larue’s Discount Drugs, Rite Aid, Robert Watts Pharmacy, Super DDiscount Drugs, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.

“That pretty much gets ‘em all,” Fields said.

The effort to bring the discount program to Lincoln County waspursued over a course of three years by District Five SupervisorGary Walker, who first heard about it at a Mississippi Associationof Supervisors meeting.

“It will help pretty much everybody in the county,” he said.”There’s a lot of people who don’t have insurance in thecounty.”