Small card adds BIG VALUE
for co-op members A
By JuliAnn Graham, CCC
few years ago, Rena McBee of Texhoma, Okla., found herself without insurance for about a year and half. She has asthma and the two inhalers she needed were costly. Because McBee is a member of Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC), she
The Co-op Connections program made possible by Touchstone Energy Cooperatives helps members save on everyday purchases like prescriptions or eating out at local restaurants.
was able to take advantage of the Co-op Connections Card for prescription savings. “I saved more than $130 each month on just one of my inhalers,” McBee
said. “I don’t know what I would have done without the card. It’s fantastic, it’s free and it’s a blessing. I call it my blessings card. It literally saved my life.” TCEC members have saved more than $1 million on prescriptions alone since the cooperative began offering the savings in 2008. “We’ve enabled our membership to save a million dollars by being a coop- erative and leveraging the value of the cooperative network,” TCEC Chief Executive Officer Zac Perkins said. “I can’t put into words how big a deal that is. Those are dollars the members couldn’t have saved without membership in the cooperative.” The Co-op Connections program is a national program made possible by
Touchstone Energy Cooperatives. Today, more than 500 electric cooperatives in 46 states offer a customized card to their members. More than $96 million has been saved nationally on prescriptions alone. Approximately 33,000 lo- cal, regional and national retail discounts are available with the card. “We are always looking out for the member,” Scott Bialick, senior program manager of business development at Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, said. “Electric cooperatives can’t always control the rates their members pay. The Co-op Connections program helps members save on everyday things.” Many electric cooperatives in Oklahoma offer the card to their members.
Bialick said they stand out among their peers. “Oklahoma co-ops have been very active in bringing this benefit to their members,” Bialick said. “They are a great example of how to run the program effectively.”
Another cooperative with high prescription savings is Oklahoma Electric
Cooperative based in Norman, Okla. “I think it’s fantastic,” Oklahoma Electric Cooperative CEO Patrick Grace
said. “The main benefit we’ve seen from the Co-op Connections Card is prescription drug savings. We get reports and it seems to be working really, really well.” Other cooperatives see benefits from the retail savings aspect of the card.
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