(February 2002)

The President’s latest proposal on prescription drugs, including a fact sheet, is available on the White House website.  To view it, click here.  Legislatively our nation is quite far away from concrete federal Medicare legislation in this arena.

Other sources of assistance with prescription costs are available for some Medicare beneficiaries.  To learn what is currently available at the state level, check with the Senior Health Insurance Counseling Program (SHIP) in your state.  To obtain the telephone number and website information about your local SHIP, call 1-800-633-4227(TTY/TDD: 1-877-486-2048 for the hearing and speech impaired), . In addition to "toll free" numbers, most states provide local contact information by county or groups of counties.

Medicare beneficiaries may also wish to explore whether Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap) plans are a meaningful option for assistance with prescription drugs. The SHIP program can discuss Medigap options as well. Currently only three of the ten standardized plans provide for prescription drug coverage (Plan H, I, and J.)  Price is often an impediment for many beneficiaries.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is undertaking a new "Pharmacy Plus" demonstration program. It is being tested in Illinois. It may prove to be a useful template for future programs. Click here to see the New York Times (January 29, 2002) for more details.   For additional information, click here to see, New York Times (January 30, 2002).

Pfizer Pharmaceuticals has announced that it is creating a prescription drug assistance program for seniors, called "Share Card," for low-income Medicare beneficiaries who are at least 65 years old, with individual gross incomes of less than $18,000, joint gross incomes of less than $24,000, and no other prescription drug coverage. Under this program, Medicare beneficiaries can buy their prescriptions for $15 per prescription for a one-month supply.  Click here for information on the Pfizer program.  Enrollment in Share Card started February 1 and the program is scheduled to start March 1, 2002.

Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline offer similar programs. Under their programs, seniors get 25% off retail costs of prescription drugs. These programs are for people with an annual income of less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level and no current prescription drug coverage.  Click here for further information.  In addition, GlaxoSmithKline is limited to those with an annual household income of less than $25,000 and does not cover total prescription cost. Click here for further information.  

© Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. 01/08/2010