Arkansas To Begin Promoting Drug Companies’ Discount Cards To Medicare Beneficiaries, Governor Says

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Oct. 3 announced that state officials will begin "aggressively promot[ing]" Eli Lilly's and Pfizer's prescription drug discount cards to low-income Arkansans who are eligible for Medicare and lack prescription drug coverage, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. According to Huckabee, as many as 100,000 Arkansans could be eligible for the drug cards; currently less than 7,000 state residents have Pfizer's card, and about 2,000 have Lilly's card, officials from each company said. Huckabee said that an $80 prescription drug would cost $12 with Lilly's card and $15 with Pfizer's card. To qualify for the cards, state residents must be eligible for Medicare, have no prescription drug coverage and make less than $18,000 annually for an individual and $24,000 for a couple. Arkansas Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher (D), who is opposing Huckabee in his reelection bid, criticized the plan, calling it "the political equivalent of a placebo: Designed to make Arkansans think he is giving them something he is not so they will just go away." Fisher last month announced her own prescription drug plan (Wickline, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/4). The plan, called the Arkansas Prescription Drug Assistance Program, is based on the Maine Rx program. Under Fisher's proposal, the state would act as a pharmacy benefits manager and negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to obtain rebates on prescription drugs equal to those set by federal law for the Medicaid program. The state would then pass the rebate on to pharmacies, which would give the discount to seniors enrolled in the program. Drugs produced by companies that do not agree to provide additional rebates would require prior authorization before being dispensed through Medicaid. However, exceptions would be permitted in cases in which no medical equivalent drugs are available. To enroll in the program, seniors would pay an annual fee of about $20. The proposal also would create a telephone hotline and Web site to help consumers access state, federal and private prescription drug programs and use generic instead of brand-name pharmaceuticals (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/18). Fisher said, "I find it questionable that, with a month left in the race for governor, Huckabee suddenly produces a plan for prescription drugs and health care" (Skoloff, AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal, 10/4). Huckabee defended his plan, saying, "This is not a political announcement. Until Congress gets off their chairs and does something for our Medicare patients, we'll do what we can do. So this is something we can do. It's not everything. But it is better than nothing" (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/4).