Guinn outlines senior drug plan

Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2000 | 12:03 p.m.

RENO -- A state-subsidized prescription drug plan will cost eligible senior citizens $34 to $88 a month for coverage and $10 to $35 per prescription.

Gov. Kenny Guinn today unveiled details of his long-awaited prescription program in which the state will pay up to a $40 monthly subsidy for the estimated eligible 12,000 low income elderly.

Signups will begin Nov. 1 and coverage will start in January.

"The issue of senior prescription medicine has become a hot political topic, but I'm not going to wait to see what, if anything, comes out of Washington, D.C.," Guinn said. "Nevada seniors deserve better."

Two plans will be offered: a basic pharmacy plan and an enhanced plan.

The basic plan, called "Nevada Blue," will require a monthly premium of $74.76. The state will provide a subsidy of $10 to $40 a month depending on income. Seniors in this plan will pay $10 for generic prescriptions and $35 or 50 percent, whichever is more, for name-brand drugs.

There is a $100 per year per person deductible, and the annual maximum benefit per individual will be $5,000.

The plan offers a mail-order option, which would cost $20 for a generic prescription for a 90-day supply.

For the enhanced benefit program, called "Nevada Silver," the monthly premium will be $98.31, minus the state subsidy. That carries a $10 co-pay per generic prescription and $25 for name brands.

The annual maximum is $5,000 for the silver program, and mail-order prescriptions will cost $20 for generics, same as the blue.

Guinn has signed a contract with Fidelity Security Life Insurance/Professional Risk and Asset Management Insurance Services (PRAM) to provide the insurance coverage.

"With this program," Guinn told a meeting of senior citizens, "we will be able to make a significant difference in the lives of thousands of Nevada seniors currently struggling with the cost of prescription medicine."

The initiative, expected to cost about $5 million a year, is being financed by receipts from Nevada's share of the tobacco settlement money.

The 1999 Legislature approved Guinn's proposal, but the program had trouble getting off the ground. In the first round of bidding, only one company submitted a plan, and it wasn't licensed in Nevada.

A health care committee, co-chaired by Assemblywomen Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, criticized the plan. Some members suggested it be delayed until the 2001 Legislature so it could be revamped. The committee refused to release the funds for the program until it has had a chance to review the details.

Buckley said she will hold hearings to give seniors, insurance and health care experts a chance to examine and testify on the Guinn plan.