WisconsinCare prescription drug help--not just for folks with SeniorCare

I'm not sure whether the state's new prescription drug program for seniors and people with disabilities, WisconsinCare, is the SeniorCare "wrap around" program everyone's been talking about.

But it looks like a boon to Wisconsin seniors struggling to pay for medications--or to get insurance that does a good job of it! Thanks for Glenna Schumann of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups for passing the information along.

“WisconsinCare will provide seniors and people with disabilities access to life-saving prescription drugs at a price they can afford,” Governor Doyle said. “By filling donut holes, using one-page applications,and providing access to affordable prescription drugs, WisconsinCare will protect our seniors – our greatest generation, who ask very little of their government and deserve so much in return.” Governor's office press release, May 9, 2007.

WisconsinCare will begin January 1, 2008. While rolled out to help seniors who must leave the the state's SeniorCare program, it will also be available to all Wisconsin seniors who are on Medicare but not on Medicaid and whose incomes are less than $24,504 (singles)/ $32,856 married couples.

Also eligible for WisconsinCare are:

• All other Wisconsin residents under the age of 65 who are: 1) enrolled in Medicare; 2) have an income of less than $16,336 ($21,904 for a married couple); and 3) are not getting Medicaid.

More information about specific benefits, signing up, and more in the WisconsinCare Fact Sheet.

According to the press release:

WisconsinCare uses a one-page application form similar to the current SeniorCare application; provides seniors with co-payments as low as $2 a prescription drug without any annual enrollment fee; and, by leveraging more federal dollars, serves more people and provides more benefits at a cost that is equal to what the state invests in SeniorCare and without additional state bureaucracy.