Colorado Senate Gives Preliminary Approval to Legislation That Would Repeal Prescription Drug Program
The Colorado Senate on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill (SB 132) that would repeal a program created to provide low-income state residents access to affordable prescription drugs, the Denver Post reports. When the Colorado Cares Rx Program was created in 2007, supporters believed it could help more than 250,000 state residents. The state partnered with RxOutreach, the not-for-profit arm of a mail-order pharmacy, to operate the program.
However, when it was rolled out in 2008, Colorado Cares "came under immediate criticism," according to the Post. A Post analysis found that many of the drugs available through the program were available for lower prices at chain pharmacies. About 40 people enrolled in the program, according to state Sen. Betty Boyd (D), who sponsored the bill that would repeal the initiative.
Under the measure, the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing would post information about affordable drugs on a Web site (Ingold, Denver Post, 2/25). The bill also cuts the number of employees for the program from four full-time workers to one part-time worker, who will answer residents' questions about lower- or no-cost drugs. Much of the money allocated for the program was never spent, according to Boyd (Bartels, Rocky Mountain News, 2/25). Eliminating the program would save the state about $3.9 million annually (Denver Post, 2/25).
