State to go ahead with plan for seniors drug program

Thursday, June 29, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Despite criticism and calls for a delay, Gov. Kenny Guinn is going ahead with efforts to start a program to help an estimated 21,000 low-income senior citizens pay for the rising cost of prescription drugs.

Denice Miller, senior policy adviser for Guinn, said Wednesday about 800 insurance companies have been invited to submit a basic plan with a premium in the range of $45 to $60. They can also offer optional higher-priced policies that may include more benefits, a lower deductible or higher price ceilings. The companies have 60 days to reply.

"We're encouraging them to be creative," Miller said.

The last time the bids were sent out, only one company, which wasn't licensed in Nevada, responded. Since then the firm has applied for a license, Miller said.

The request for bids coincides with the meeting today of a state task force advising the governor on the topic. At their last meeting, some members of the task force suggested the program be scrapped for now, the money saved and the 2001 Legislature be asked to change the law to provide meaningful relief on drug purchases.

The 1999 Legislature, at Guinn's request, set aside $40 a month per person to help pay for prescription insurance premiums for those 62 years and older with low incomes. The money would come out of the funds the state will receive from the settlement with the tobacco industry.

The prescriptions program was supposed to start in October, but it has been delayed at least until January, only a month before the 2001 Legislature opens.

Members of the task force said the maximum $40 monthly subsidy would provide only minimal help for those with incomes of $21,000 and below.

Wyoming has a seniors drug program with a premium of only $40 per month, Miller said

During the last bidding, Miller said, some companies were concerned about the $480 limit a year. She said that may be increased in the 2001 Legislature and that the $21,000 income limit may also be raised, making more of the elderly eligible for the benefit.

The new bid request includes another new wrinkle. When seniors reach the monthly limit on drugs the insurance company will cover, they should be allowed to buy the drugs at a discount.

Miller said she is studying the plans before Congress, not to compare them with the Guinn proposal but to see how they would dovetail with the state.

The House passed a Republican-sponsored Medicare prescription drug plan Wednesday night that relies on a blend of private insurance companies and federal subsidies, similar to the proposed state plan.