GIANT EAGLE PROMOTES MEDICARE SESSIONS

DAN ALAIMO

PITTSBURGH -- Giant Eagle is using full-page ads to attract customers to the Medicare prescription discount card counseling sessions it is running this month in all its stores with pharmacies.

The run-of-press ads appeared in the Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Youngstown, Ohio; Erie, Pa.; Johnstown, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; and Akron/Canton, Ohio, marketing areas on two weekends, May 8 to 9 and May 15 to 16, said Brian Frey, Giant Eagle spokesman. The program also is listed on the company's Web site. The retailer has pharmacies in 180 of its 223 stores, he said.

The events, titled "Understanding the Benefits of the New Medicare Discount Card," have so far attracted sufficiently strong interest that additional sessions were scheduled at some stores, Frey said. "Although we do not have specific attendance figures to share, we are witnessing a positive customer response," he said.

The retailer is advertising heavily because "we want to position Giant Eagle as a trusted source for this valuable information and a place where customers can turn for consultation on the card that best fits their prescription needs," he said.

"Our goal is to offer a valuable service for our customers by providing them with the assistance and clarity needed to choose a Medicare discount card. We hope to eliminate the confusion for our customers, and provide a valuable community service that lets our communities know that Giant Eagle pharmacies and pharmacists are here for them," Frey said.

The events run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in most stores and are conducted by a total of 12 pharmacists and graduate pharmacy students now working for Giant Eagle, Frey said. "The 12 staff members rotate through our markets based on a predetermined schedule and have laptops that allow them to access the government Web site that contains the various plans currently available. The team members were trained internally by our corporate director for managed care at Giant Eagle," Frey said.

Sign-ups for the cards began May 3 and consumers can start using them in June. There's no limit on the number of programs retailers can enroll in, but consumers can sign up for one card per year, which can cost no more than $30. Savings are estimated at 10% to 40%, depending on the card and the medication.

Giant Eagle does not recommend any particular cards, he said. "Our events are designed to allow our trained pharmacist staff to provide consultation for our customers by reviewing their prescription needs, completing the information on the government Web site, and providing the customer with the top three plans that best suit their specific needs," he said.

Other retailers are taking a different approach. For example, Walgreens, Deerfield, Ill., has its own card, and H.E. Butt Grocery Co., San Antonio, is collaborating with ScriptSave, Tucson, Ariz., to offer a Medicare-approved prescription discount card with no enrollment fee and savings of "up to 30% or more," according to a company statement. ScriptSave is a prescription drug savings program for customers who are mostly uninsured or underinsured, according to Internet sources.

H-E-B will accept other discount cards, "but we're giving a little deeper discount to those who use the H-E-B card," Clif Anthony, a store director in Austin, Texas, in charge of the program for the chain's South Texas area, is quoted as saying in a media report. H-E-B has designated Tuesdays in May as "Senior Appreciation Days" in all stores with pharmacies and is giving out information on the new drug cards.