Prescription-drug credit will save state millions

The credit will allow PACE to waive some $6 co-pays.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Pennsylvania's prescription-drug program for low-income elderly will save the state about $150 million over the next two years when its enrollees use a $600 credit toward medication through Medicare's new discount drug card, officials said.
The Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly -- or PACE -- will automatically enroll about 150,000 of its lowest-income recipients who qualify for the Medicare discount card.
Those recipients will get the Medicare card's percentage discounts on the price of some medications and a $600 credit toward the purchase of medications.
The $600 Medicare credit will replace the money that PACE uses to pay for medications -- drawn from state lottery revenues -- and save the state program about $150 million between June 2004 and March 31, 2006, on spending of $1 billion, said Tom Snedden, the director of PACE.
Waiving of co-pays
The credit will allow PACE to waive some of the $6 co-pays that the low-income recipients otherwise pay to the state program. Qualifying individuals make less than $12,569 per year, and couples less than $16,862, or 135 percent of the federal poverty level.
There is no charge for those low-income beneficiaries who qualify for the $600 credit on the Medicard card. While higher-income people can be charged up to $30 per year for a card, Snedden said the state will subsidize that cost and offer a drug card free to every Pennsylvanian on Medicare.
The Medicare cards are to be sponsored by private benefits companies and will have various provisions and restrictions. Beginning Thursday, drug price comparisons and sites where recipients can use the cards will be available on the Medicare Web site or from operators at 1-800-MEDICARE.
PACE enrollees may call 1-800-355-6571 to find out about the Medicare card sponsored by a for-profit company that is also PACE's benefits administrator. And the state will sponsor a series of "town meetings" across the state to educate the public about the new Medicare cards, beginning Tuesday. A schedule is available at the state Department of Aging's Web site, www.aging.state.pa.us.
Enrollment begins May 3, and the Medicare cards can be used starting June 1. Different pharmacies will accept different cards, and companies can start marketing the drug cards in May.
Temporary
The cards are intended as a temporary measure until prescription drug insurance under Medicare begins in 2006. The Bush administration says Medicare clients who use the cards should save 10 percent to 25 percent off their prescription drug costs. Critics say the percentages will be much lower.
In Pennsylvania, at least 17 companies plan to offer discount cards that will provide savings through the end of the year, Snedden said. In the last six weeks of the year, Medicare beneficiaries can choose to either renew their cards or select one from a different company for discounts during 2005.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.