Pennsylvania Senior Health Programs Threatened by Declining Lottery Revenues, Rising Costs
Pennsylvania seniors face a growing "health care financial crunch" as health plan premiums and prescription drug costs are "skyrocketing" and the state lottery that pays for many seniors' programs is "going broke," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Pennsylvania Lottery funds two prescription drug discount programs for seniors -- the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly, or PACE, and a second program called PACENET -- as well as senior center activities, home health aides, in-home meals and transportation. Programs for seniors will be "in jeopardy" if the lottery fund goes broke as expected by September 2003, state officials say. The lottery fund could be as much as $188 million "in the red" in fiscal year 2003-2004, the Inquirer reports. The impact is "already being felt" -- this month, the state Department of Aging is requiring seniors earning $985 per month or more to help pay for some state-funded home-care assistance (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/16). State officials "blame" the lottery's fiscal problems on the increasing costs of seniors' programs and more payouts to lottery winners.
Saving the Fund
To keep the lottery fund from running out of funds, the state is examining ways to "cut the costs" of PACE and PACENET (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/16). PACE is for seniors with annual incomes of less than $14,000 per year for singles and $17,200 or less for couples. PACENET's income limits are $17,000 per single senior and $20,200 for couples (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/16). Currently, the state spends more than $400 million per year to provide pharmaceutical benefits to about 200,000 seniors in the programs. To stem costs, Richard Browdie, secretary of the state Department of Aging, has recommended increasing the programs' $6 copayment and offering discounts to seniors who use a mail-order pharmacy or who receive a 90-day supply of drugs for chronic conditions. He has also suggested that officials "demand" that pharmaceutical companies boost the medications discount they give the state from 16% to 21%. Pennsylvania officials said the recommendations would save the state $75 million the first year and $95 million the second (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/16). Browdie said, "The pressure on the Legislature to do something is tremendous. If the Legislature doesn't give us cost-containment measures, we can't provide the programs" (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/16).
