Elderly not buying into state drug discounts

Missouri's senior citizens aren't sold on the state's prescription drug discount program.

In Cape Girardeau County alone, more than 400 elderly residents are enrolled. But that still leaves another 1,402 who might be eligible for the program but have not signed up, state officials said Tuesday.

The Missouri SenioRx Program was projected to enroll as many as 55,000 low-income elderly when it debuted on July 1, 2002. Instead, the program had about 21,900 participants the first year. That number has now dropped to 18,836.

Most participants are women. The average age of participants is 78.

The program's executive director, Laurie Hines, said she hopes that new efforts by public health clinics and other agencies that serve the elderly to promote the program will boost participation even though that would come at a cost to the financially strapped state government.

Last year, the state spent more than $10 million paying prescription drug bills and dispensing fees to pharmacies, she said.

Past efforts to promote the program on television and radio and in newspaper ads have failed to attract as many participants as officials had hoped. The program this year has bought no broadcast ads and is running fewer newspaper ads.

Hines said public health clinics informed senior citizens of the program when they came in for flu shots this fall withbrochures and applications.

Eligible elderly can sign up for the discount program from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28 for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Hines said it isn't easy convincing the elderly that they could benefit from the program.

"They don't trust government," she said.

State officials estimate as many as 150,000 elderly in Missouri may meet the age and income guidelines.

Participants must be at least 65 years of age and make no more than $17,000 a year if they are single and no more than $25,000 a year joint income if married.

Even then, some Missourians won't qualify, Hines said. That's because those who are on Medicaid or receive other prescription medicine benefits, as is the case with veterans, aren't eligible for the state program. Hines said the state does not know how many such elderly residents live in Missouri.

Individuals who have other prescription medicine benefits can still qualify for SenioRx if those benefits are less than what is offered through the state program, Hines said.

Linking to new Medicare

Congress has created a new Medicare drug discount program that is expected to go into effect by next summer. The program is open to all elderly and could pay 90 percent to 95 percent of prescription medicine bills up to $600 a year, Missouri SenioRx Program officials said. This only applies to low-income state residents.

Hines said the Medicare prescription medicine program could be used in conjunction with the state discount program.

Participants pay $25 to $35 a year to enroll in the state program, depending on income. The program provides prescription drug discounts once the participant reaches a deductible of $250 or $500, depending on income.

The program pays 60 percent of participants' drug bills once they meet the deductibles, up to a maximum of $5,000 per person.

Clara Daniels of Cape Girardeau currently is enrolled in the program. But she said she won't sign up next year.

"I am disappointed in it," said Daniels. She said she pays $35 a year to participate in the program but because she is relatively healthy she incurs less than $500 a year in prescription drug bills. As a result, she receives no discount from the program.

"I am paying $35 for nothing," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123