Missouri Governor Proposes Changes to Senior Drug Plan

Missouri Gov. Bob Holden (D) has called a special state legislative session for Sept. 5 to discuss, among other things, a new prescription drug payment plan for the elderly, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Missouri currently has in place a program that provides a $200 tax credit to people 65 and older to help them pay for prescription drugs. However, the Post-Dispatch reports that the state's subsidy of the program is "out of control." Intended to cost $20 million per year, the plan has instead cost the state $85 million per year. A special task force appointed by Holden earlier this year proposed a drug plan that would lower the state's cost to between $45 million and $52 million per year. Under the new plan, the annual benefit limit would be capped at $5,000 and seniors would pay "contributions" based on income. For example, a single person making up to about $12,000 per year or a couple making up to about $17,000 per year would pay a $25 "enrollment fee", a deductible of $250 and a co-pay of 40%. On Sept. 4, state Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder (R) appeared publicly with Holden to "accept" the task force's recommendations. However, the Post-Dispatch reports that "if the task force plan runs into trouble, it will be in the Senate," noting the House last year passed changes to the existing drug plan three times, all of which died in the Senate. Though he had not seen the new bill yet, Kinder said he "was committed to getting something passed" in regards to the drug plan. He added that he might try to finance the plan in part with legal fees intended for the private lawyers that represented Missouri in the national tobacco settlement (Ganey, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/4). For further information on state health policy in Missouri, visit State Health Facts Online.