The Audrain County Sheriff's Department training home hosted the most recent meeting of the Audrain County Municipalities on Monday, October 17, 2022. The theme of the meeting was very health care …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous website, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Audrain County Residents Being Offered New And Improved Live Healthy Discount Program
All Audrain County residents are now eligible to receive no-cost prescription discounts, regardless of age, income, insured or non-insured. The only restriction is that they live in Audrain County. Montgomery and Callaway Counties also participate.
Audrain County Associate Commissioner Tracy R. Graham recently heard about the program at National Associations of Counties meeting and believed it was a great opportunity for residents in Audrain County. Graham says "As a priority to enhance health care in Audrain County the Live Healthy program through our membership with the National Association of Counties seemed like a great opportunity to help citizens receive discounts that may otherwise not be available to them."
Audrain County Associate Commissioner Leslie Meyer spoke at the Audrain County Municipalities meeting held on Monday, October 17th, and said "I am excited that we can maximize our NACO membership to help every Audrain County resident. With the rising cost of prescription drugs, insurance premiums and inflation, our residents need help saving money whenever possible.”
Audrain County Presiding Commissioner Alan Winders says “This program is worthwhile for all of our residents including those on Medicare. According to our NACO representatives, residents who are experiencing a doughnut period on their coverage can utilize the discounts to assist them in covering prescription drug costs as well as the dental or health discounts.”
Residents who have insurance can also use the discount card when their medications are not covered by their insurance plan. It is also available to pets.
According to the brochure residents can save an average of 30% on the price of medications when presenting their prescription discount card at the pharmacy.
The second part of the program offers dental and health discount programs.
The program offers low-fee dental discounts where residents can save up to 50% on most dental services at more than 11,000 dentists and specialists.
Services include routine and in-depth check-ups, child and adult cleanings, mouth x-rays, root canals simple extractions, full upper dentures and more.
Other low-fee discounts include vision, hearing, diabetes supplies and telemedicine.
The brochures can be picked at various locations around Audrain County, including the Audrain County Courthouse and city halls in Mexico, Benton City, Farber, Martinsburg, Laddonia, Vandalia. Other locations include Audrain County Public Health Department, Cornerstone Family Medicine, Audrain County Courthouse, Mexico Senior Center, Webber Pharmacy, with more locations being added daily.
The brochures have the prescription discount card included in them that can be cut out. Residents can sign up for these programs online at LiveHealthyCard.com or by calling 1-877-321-2652.
Another speaker at the Audrain County Municipalities meeting was the Craig Brace the administrator and CEO of the Audrain County Health Department. Brace has held his current position since November, 2020. He told the audience "I’m extremely fortunate to have joined a team ready and capable of taking on a pandemic. They are just outstanding. As a team we have fought a good fight and prevented the spread of COVID-19 in numerous ways. Many of which were behind the scenes to protect the privacy of individuals and organizations. I can’t be more proud of the team.
He also told the crowd that Audrain County currently ranks 80th out of 115 Missouri counties for overall health outcomes. Brace said "We believe this rank can be improved in the coming years through the collaboration with many other like-minded agencies in the county who have a vested interest in seeing our health outcomes rank and quality of life for our county residents improve. Our vision for the Audrain County Health Department is to increase our overall health rank to 75th over the next few years. The top three health factors driving the current rank are adult smoking, adult obesity, and physical inactivity."
The County Health Rankings, a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, measures the health of nearly all counties in the nation and ranks them within states. The Rankings are compiled using county-level measures from a variety of national and state data sources. These measures are standardized and combined using scientifically informed weights.
The County Health Rankings are based on a model of community health that emphasizes the many factors that influence how long and how well we live. The Rankings use more than 30 measures that help communities understand how healthy their residents are today (health outcomes) and what will impact their health in the future (health factors).
There are many things that influence how well and how long we live. Everything from our education to our environments impact our health. Health Factors represent those things we can modify to improve the length and quality of life for Audrain County residents. They are predictors of how healthy our communities can be in the future.
Dr. Alexander Finck was born and raised in Mexico and was also a featured speaker at the Audrain County municipalities meeting. Dr. Finck opened up his clinic in September, 2021. He told the audience "Cornerstone Family Medicine is an independent family medicine clinic, established to offer transparent, affordable healthcare on your terms. We charge a flat, easy-to-budget monthly fee that replaces your office visit fee or copay and works well for those with and without insurance. While the monthly fee is cash/credit only, you can use your insurance for most other things at our clinic, including labs, imaging, and diagnostic tests -- though we have cheap prices (e.g. $27 for a yearly lab panel) that often beat insurance prices. We offer same or next day appointments. Whether via phone, in clinic, or even in your own home or office, we're here to provide personalized, prompt care when you need it most."
