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April 24, 2003 Contact: Jim Sellers (503) 945-5738 Program contact: Sandy Wood (503) 945-6530 New senior discount-drug program goes statewide on May 1 Oregon's new program to deliver discounted Medicaid prescription-drug prices to low-income seniors will become statewide on May 1 when the last of Oregon's 36 counties are added to the self-supporting program. That is when low-income seniors in Benton, Clackamas, Jackson, Josephine, Lincoln and Linn counties will become eligible to request applications for the first time. Those in other counties became eligible to join the program over the past three months. The Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program, authorized by the 2001 Oregon Legislature, is managed by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). "This is an opportunity for low-income seniors to save substantially on prescription drugs," said Lynn Read, state Medicaid director in DHS. "It is easy to sign up, and more than a third of Oregon's pharmacies are voluntarily participating." Seniors may request applications by calling (800) 359-9517 (or TTY: 800 621-5260). The toll-free phone line accepts calls weekdays (except holidays) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. As many as 100,000 low-income seniors are believed to be eligible. To be eligible, a senior must be age 65 or older, have an income below 185 percent of the federal poverty level ($16,391 annually for an individual), have less than $2,000 in liquid assets (not including house and car) and not have been insured for prescription drugs in the prior six months. If a prescription drug would normally cost $60 but the state Medicaid program pays $50, then the participating senior would also pay $50. Typical discounts are 10 percent to 20 percent, although Read said mail-order prescriptions may be discounted more. Seniors pay a $50 annual fee after they are determined eligible for the self-supporting program, which issues a membership card that seniors may use at participating pharmacies. The program is not a Medicaid program and participants do not become Medicaid clients. Read said the Governor's Commission on Senior Services reported that 50 percent of uninsured seniors take partial doses and 83 percent skip filling some prescriptions. Fifty-seven percent of Oregon's seniors have no insurance for drug costs, according to the Commission's data. More than a third of the state's 750-plus pharmacies have signed up to participate in the voluntary program. |
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