Medicare prescription drug coverage: Wisconsin’s news

Prescription drug coverage for seniors has been in the news a long time. And it’ll be in the news for a long time to come. Wisconsin plays a big role in developing better ideas and new initiatives—and fighting to keep them afloat.

Earlier this month, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups (CWAG) learned it was one of nine organizations to share a $900,000 grant to “help fund initiatives designed to identify, educate and help eligible beneficiaries in their communities to apply for the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) and other prescription savings programs.”

The grants were awarded by My Medicare Matters, a community-based education initiative sponsored by the National Council on Aging and the Access to Benefits Coalition, with support from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

This is especially important because, as CWAG director Tom Frazier will testify before the Senate Committee on Aging tomorrow (March 28), “. . .in Wisconsin. . .we have the second worst record in the country in terms of applications for extra help being approved—just over one-third (35.4%) of applications are approved by the Social Security Administration. This means that the vast majority of the lowest income seniors would not be eligible for extra help under Part D and, therefore, would face significantly higher out-of-pocket costs. As you have also heard, many SeniorCare enrollees with incomes over 160% FPL also would face much higher costs.”

SeniorCare is Wisconsin’s model drug reimbursement program that is scheduled to end unless the state receives a waiver to continue it. The federal government has been clear that it is not inclined to offer the waiver, despite much good evidence of the lower cost and greater satisfaction with SeniorCare than Part D programs.

Some data from a SeniorCare factsheet dated March 12 from the state DHHS office:

 An AARP study found that 94 percent of SeniorCare recipients are better served under SeniorCare than they would be under Medicare Part D


 The average annual federal subsidy for a SeniorCare waiver participant is $617, about half as much as the $1,174 the federal government spends to subsidize a Part D participant


 We estimate that SeniorCare will save Medicaid roughly $697 million between 2008 to 2010. This includes $404 million in reduced federal expenditures


 SeniorCare has already saved Wisconsin seniors and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars since its inception. In State Fiscal Year 2006 alone, SeniorCare reduced drug costs to Wisconsin seniors by almost $200 million


CWAG’s Glenna Schuman has asked people to:

• Call the Whitehouse leaving a message for the President: (these are all long distance calls, but worth it to make your voice heard. Thank the President and leave your name and address or at least the city and state.

202-456-1111 is the comment line
202-456-1414 is a live voice that will direct you to the comment line
202-456-2461 is a fax line if you would like to write a note and fax it.

• Call Secretary Mike Leavitt’s office at 1-877-696-6775, tell the recording that this is about Senior Care, your city and state, and that you are for it.

• Or write the President (The Whitehouse, Washington DC, 20500) and Secretary Leavitt (200 Independence Ave. S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201). The message can be as simple as, “Please SAVE Wisconsin’s SeniorCare prescription drug program.” If you have a story, briefly tell that.