The Cardinal Pharmacy
Attention Employees, their Families, and Tribal Members;
Tribal Council is pleased to announce that the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in conjunction with its new Cardinal Pharmacy will be lowering the co pay amount required on prescription drugs for all employees and members covered by the Tribe’s BCBS health care plan. Currently generic prescriptions filled at outside pharmacies have a co pay starting at $10 and brand name prescription drugs a co pay up to $40. With the change those Employees, their covered family members, and Tribal Members who choose to use the Tribe’s new Cardinal Pharmacy, will receive approved generic prescriptions for FREE (no co pay) and brand name drugs for a reduced co pay of $20.
This change will positively impact everyone covered on the health care plan. Tribal Council approved the Cardinal Pharmacy discount plan on October 29th, 2008. The change will go into effect once BCBS administrative details have been worked out.
The savings in prescription co pay amounts, for those who choose to use Cardinal Pharmacy, could result in savings of $360 to $720 per year for someone filling three generic or branded prescriptions per month.
The process to transfer a prescription to Cardinal Pharmacy is very simple: Take a current prescription bottle to a Cardinal pharmacist and we will take care of everything from there! If you prefer, you can call 989-317-3700 and ask to speak with the pharmacy department. Cardinal Pharmacy is located in the new Arnold J Sowmick Sr. Plaza next to Sagamok Shell. Tribal Council launched the pharmacy in an effort to reduce health care costs for employees, members, and the Tribe.
The pharmacy is fully staffed including two very experienced pharmacists Keith Jacque and Chris Tuller. Keith and Chris have over 48 years combined experience as licensed pharmacists. Cardinal Pharmacy is fully licensed by the DEA and State of Michigan. They follow the same guidelines and requirements as other independent retail pharmacies, including HIPAA Privacy Laws. All prescription and healthcare information is kept strictly confidential and does not go beyond pharmacy staff. The store has a state of the art security and surveillance system with access to the rear pharmacy area restricted to only licensed pharmacist’s and licensed pharmacy technicians.They carry a full line of pharmaceuticals. If for some reason they don’t have your drug in stock they can get it usually within a day or two.
Cardinal Pharmacy is currently open and the hours of operation will be Monday to Friday 9:00am to 7:00pm and Saturday 9:00am to 3:00pm. Hours could expand to include Sunday and late night sales if needed. Management wants this new venture to be as accommodating as possible so that all employees, regardless of shift hours, have a chance to pick up or drop off prescriptions.
There is even a drive through window located on the back side of the building for prescription drop off and pick up. For those employees and members who do not work or live in the Mt. Pleasant area, management is discussing the idea of implementing mail order processing. Employees, their covered family members, and Tribal Members may still choose to use a pharmacy other than Cardinal Pharmacy however the discounted co pay amounts are specific to Cardinal Pharmacy only. Those using other pharmacies will be required to pay standard co pay amounts. Members should still utilize Nimkee Clinic for their pharmacy needs. However at times Nimkee is closed or not available, Cardinal Pharmacy is an alternative option. Tribal Council hopes these discounts positively help our employees and members during these tough economic times.
