HHS Approves Expanding Pharmacy Benefits to Wisconsin Elderly
Program To Provide Access to Coverage for up to 177,000 Wisconsin Residents
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today approved a Wisconsin program that will
provide access to Medicaid prescription drug benefits to low-income seniors.
State officials estimate that as many as 177,000 Wisconsin residents may be
aided by the new program when it begins in September 2002.
"I congratulate Governor McCallum in helping to provide access to
prescription drug coverage to those citizens most in need," Secretary
Thompson said. "Whether it is welfare reform, school vouchers, or covering
the uninsured, Wisconsin has been a leader in creating innovative programs
designed to help its citizens, and it continues to be a leader with the
SeniorCare program."
Wisconsin is one of the first states in the nation to receive federal
funding to extend Medicaid prescription drug coverage to seniors under the
new Pharmacy Plus program. Under Pharmacy Plus, states may expand Medicaid
coverage for prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries and other
individuals with family incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty
level (FPL). The FPL for 2002 is $8,860 for an individual. Similar
programs are being proposed by other states, in an effort to provide relief
to low-income individuals in the face of increasing prescription drug costs.
"While we anticipate the implementation of similar programs nationwide, we
do not view them as a substitute for a new prescription benefit in the
Medicare program," Secretary Thompson said. "President Bush has affirmed
his commitment to enact legislation this year to strengthen Medicare with
prescription drug coverage, and to provide relief to seniors as quickly as
possible. The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a strong,
effective bill that would provide seniors with a Medicare drug benefit
program that will result in needed savings on their prescription drugs.
Seniors should not have to wait any longer."
Medicaid is a state and federal partnership that now provides health
coverage, including prescription drugs, to about 40 million low-income
Americans, including people with disabilities and older Americans living in
nursing homes. Medicare is the federal program that covers 40 million
seniors and people with disabilities. By law, Medicare does not cover most
outpatient prescription drugs, leaving many seniors without access to
affordable prescription drugs.
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