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Prescription drug aid for elderly poor

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June 28, 1999
Web posted at: 2:17 p.m. EDT (1817 GMT)


In this story:

92% discount on pricey drug

RELATED STORIES, SITES icon



By Correspondent Gary Tuchman

NEW YORK (CNN) -- As Congress and the White House debate Medicare spending, including proposals to make prescription drugs more affordable, 73-year-old Katherine Roberts believes a similar program already in place in New York state has saved her life.

A Manhattan apartment dweller, whose yearly income of about $11,000 comes from Social Security checks, Roberts takes several prescription drugs, but does not qualify for Medicaid, a government health care program for the poor.

That led to a difficult decision. After paying for her medication, Roberts had only enough money to feed her cat -- or herself.

It's a choice she no longer has to make, due to a New York state program called EPIC that allows 108,000 seniors to pay a fraction of the original price on prescription drugs.

roberts
Roberts: "It has definitely saved my life"

iconRELATED AUDIO:
73 K/6 sec. AIFF or WAV sound
 

The state spends about $90 million annually to subsidize prescriptions for single seniors who make under $18,500 a year; the limit is $24,400 for married couples.

92% discount on pricey drug

Roberts, who currently takes Lipitor for high cholesterol, Zestril for hypertension and Prilosec for a reflux disorder would have to spend about $2,800 a year for those drugs.

But under EPIC, she and other participants never pay more than $23 for each prescription, so for her priciest drug, Prilosec, Roberts gets a 92% discount.

Other states have, or are planning, similar drug subsidies. Advocacy groups for the elderly say New York's program is the most innovative.

While manufacturers oppose legislation that would limit what they can charge for their drugs, they don't object to the New York program because the state government pays for the discount.

And Katherine Roberts couldn't be happier. "It's made my life possible."



RELATED STORIES:
Clinton drug plan right prescription for Medicare?
June 27, 1999
Clinton drops Medicare prescription drug change
June 26, 1999
AMA to develop Web prescription guidelines
June 24, 1999

RELATED SITES:
The EPIC Guide
Medicare
Stark Introduces Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
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