Editorial: Keep tabs on senior drug plan

Monday, Dec. 11, 2000 | 10:59 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn's prescription drug program for low-income seniors isn't off to a sizzling start -- only about 300 people signed up during its first month of operation. It's estimated that between 10,000 and 11,000 seniors are eligible for the policies offered by Fidelity Security Life Insurance Co., which the Guinn administration selected to run the program.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who has been critical of Guinn's implementation of the program (which received overwhelming support from the 1999 Legislature), told Sun reporter Cy Ryan last week that enrollments could be lagging because of one of two reasons: Either senior citizens haven't heard about the program's availability or the program is so flawed that people aren't bothering to sign up.

It's encouraging, then, that Buckley says she wants to monitor the program's progress when the 2001 Legislature convenes. Of particular concern to Buckley is that the Guinn administration allowed the insurance company to design the program. If, in fact, it's determined that the program isn't adequately helping seniors, then the Legislature should explore what Buckley says 14 other states are doing, which is operating the program themselves and contracting with private pharmacies to get discounted rates for prescriptions.

Guinn and the Nevada Legislature did the right thing in 1999 when they tried to fill the policy vacuum created by the failure of President Clinton and Congress to devise a national plan that would provide drug benefits for Medicare recipients. Now that Nevada has stepped into this void, however, it is up to the state to tailor a program that provides decent benefits, ensuring that seniors don't have to pick between buying food or purchasing expensive prescription drugs.