Oregon Debates Prescription Drug Plans as Florida, New Jersey Pass Legislation in Kaiser Health Policy Report’s Rx Round Up
The following briefly summarizes the latest prescription drug news from Florida, Oregon and New Jersey:
- Florida: The Tampa Tribune on May 11 ran an editorial encouraging Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to sign legislation that would allow the generic equivalents of four drugs to be included in a Florida law requiring pharmacists to offer patients a generic option. By allowing the substitutions, the editorial says the state would save money while giving consumers the "choice to continue the more expensive brand-name medication if they are willing to pay for it or if a doctor so directs" (Tampa Tribune, 5/11).
- Oregon: State Senate Democrats and Republicans are backing competing measures to offer relief to seniors facing "high" prescription drug costs. Republicans are backing a bill (SB 927) that would create a state subsidized program to assist low-income seniors pay for drugs. Under the plan, generic drugs would have a $15 copay and brand-name medications would have a $30 copay; out-of-pocket costs would be capped at $2,000 a year. State Sen. John Minnis (R), the bill's sponsor, said the plan would cost about $11 million over two years, but the state Department of Human Services estimates the cost at more than $120 million. Saying the state does not have the funding to create a new program, Senate Democrats are pushing a bill (SB 876) that would require pharmacies to sell drugs to Medicare beneficiaries at Medicaid prices. Prices would be cut by about 15% and would not "cost the state one dime." Pharmacists, however, are opposing the plan because they would "bear the full cost." About 180,000 of Oregon's elderly or disabled residents lack drug coverage (Mayes, Portland Oregon, 5/10).
- New Jersey: The state Assembly has unanimously passed a bill that appropriates $60 million to expand an existing prescription drug program, the AP/Bergen Record reports. The current program, called Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled, covers about 190,000 disabled individuals and low-income seniors. Program participants pay $5 copay. Currently, the program's income eligibility limits are $18,587 per year for individuals and $22,791 for couples. But under the bill, proposed by acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco (R) and dubbed "Senior Gold," the program's income limits would be raised to $29,238 for individuals and $33,589 for couples annually. In addition, the bill alters the program's payment system: While Senior Gold participants would not pay more than $2,000 a year in out-of-pocket prescription costs, they would be responsible for the first $15 of a prescription and then split the remaining cost with the state. However, if a senior exceeds the $2,000 cap, he or she would pay only the $15 copayment. The state Senate has approved an earlier version of the plan and has schedule a vote on the new proposal for May 14 (AP/Bergen Record, 5/11).
