Salt Lake County residents who have lost health insurance or don't have coverage for certain prescription drugs may find some relief with a new discount program announced Wednesday.

Mayor Peter Corroon said all county residents — and their pets — are eligible for discounts of up to 22 percent on a host of prescription medications not covered by their insurance. The National Association of Counties' drug discount cards will be available at a variety of local pharmacies— including Walgreens, Walmart and Rite Aid — as well as at county health clinics, hospitals and senior centers.

The discounts are offered without restriction, and no paperwork is required to receive a card, the mayor said. The card is good at some 59,000 pharmacies nationwide.

Salt Lake Valley Health Director Gary Edwards said the mayor asked his department to coordinate the discount program with local pharmacies several months ago, after seeing it work in other parts of the country. The association began a pilot discount program in 2005.

Corroon said the county didn't join in earlier because officials were waiting to see how the pilot program fared. He said county leaders also wanted to ensure that locally owned pharmacies would not be negatively impacted by the program.

"With the national debate over health care raging, Salt Lake County is working with the National Association of Counties … joining hundreds of other counties nationwide" in offering the discount at no additional cost to taxpayers, he said.

The association has negotiated directly with pharmaceutical companies to offer the discount for those participating in the program, Corroon said.

"It's easy to participate, there are no enrollment forms and no restrictions" for age, income or whether residents are already privately insured, Carroon said. Only drugs that are not currently covered by insurance are eligible for the discount, and it doesn't apply to prescription co-payments.

The card may also be used in limited circumstances to cover some drugs used for residents' pets, depending on the medication.

Details about locations where the card can be obtained, the pharmacies where it can be used and a link to drugs covered and their estimated cost can be found at www.slvhealth.org, by clicking on the Prescription Drug Card tab.

Salt Lake County residents also can visit www.caremark.com/naco to print their personalized ID card.

e-mail: carrie@desnews.com