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April 4, 2003 No strings to this drug plan Lynn Read of Salem is state Medicaid director in the Oregon Department of Human Services, which manages the Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program. She can be reached at lynn.read@state.or.us By Lynn Read Even after years of national debate about prescription-drug benefits for America’s seniors, Oregon lives with an alarming figure: 57 percent of low-income seniors have no coverage for prescription drugs. Now, thanks to action by the Oregon Legislature, we have a simple hassle-free way for eligible low-income seniors to buy their prescription drugs at the discounted Medicaid price. And the program, which opened Tuesday to seniors in Marion and Polk counties, costs the state’s taxpayers nothing. Check out other discount programs, and you will find a number of hurdles to clear. But Oregon’s Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program has none of them.  No complicated
application, just one simple form to complete. No need
to get a doctor’s signature. No requirement
to submit last year’s income-tax return. No restriction
on which drugs are available. No 90-day
limit for filling prescriptions.Here’s how it works. The low-income senior (or a family member or friend) calls a toll-free number to request an application: (800) 359-9517 (TTY: 800 621-5260). After the application arrives in the mail, it is completed and returned. Only after the senior is notified that she or he is eligible is the $50 annual fee due. The senior will receive an enrollment card that can be used at participating pharmacies. More than one in three pharmacies voluntarily participate in this program. If yours doesn’t, ask if they will. Some people may balk at the annual fee, but consider: If a senior has a $300-a-month prescription bill, the annual savings would be $670 if drugs were discounted 20 percent. This is after subtracting the $50 fee from the price savings. We figure seniors will realize discounts of 10 percent to 20 percent, and sometimes more. The annual fee goes to pay the cost of administering the program. Why is this assistance with paying for prescription drugs important? Here’s what the Governor’s Commission on Senior Services reported about the consequences of low-income seniors not having help with the high cost of prescription drugs. Fifty percent take partial doses to stretch medications. Eighty-three percent skip filling some prescriptions. Seventy-one percent say they spend less on food, rent, heat and clothing to offset drug costs. More information about the program is on the Internet at www.dhs.state.or.us/healthplan An estimated 100,000 of Oregon’s low-income seniors are eligible for this program. If you are one – or know one – you are encouraged to learn more about it. |
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