The City of Round Rock’s Human Resources Department was runner up in the State and Local Government Benefits Association (SALGBA) Exemplary Benefits Program. The award was presented in San Antonio on May 1, and recognized the City’s mail order generic prescription program.

The City offers free generic prescriptions through mail order. The goal is to assist employees in getting prescriptions they could not previously afford so that emergency room admissions and hospital stays decrease. Affordability has become an issue with the average 30-day costs for brand drugs increasing exponentially – a 73 percent increase from $120 to $208 over the last five years – compared to generics, which actually decreased 7.5 percent from $19 to $18, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Adding to this cost trend is the fact that “no less than 42 brand-name drugs either have or will become available as generics in 2011 and 2012,” according to the Greater Binghamton Business Journal.

The free generic prescriptions through the mail program allows the City to incur the cost of prescriptions in order to provide all employees with their necessary medications, which results in significant savings that prevent large premium increases when policies are renewed.

About SALGBA
The State and Local Government Benefits Association is a national organization whose purpose is to provide its members with educational and collaborative support.  Since its inception in 1982, SALGBA members have held informative and eventful conferences in major cities across the country.

Pictured: Karin Holland, Jay Light and Valerie Francois.