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For Immediate
Release
7/7/06
CONTACT:
PA
Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725
Vance Legislation to Blend State Program & Medicare Part
D Becomes Law
HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania's
prescription drug assistance program for seniors now works seamlessly with the
federal Medicare prescription drug program after legislation Sen. Pat Vance
(R-Cumberland/York) authored was signed into law today.
The
law aligns the PACE and PACENET programs to combine benefits with the
federal Medicare prescription drug program.
"I'm
pleased that after much hard work we were able to integrate these two
programs," Vance said. "We now will be able to continue the important
PACE and PACENET benefits for current and future low-income Pennsylvania
seniors without beneficiaries noticing changes. This is a win-win for
the Commonwealth."
Vance's law will supplement the benefits available under Medicare Part D
by:
-
providing coverage for prescription drugs not covered by Medicare
Part D plans;
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paying for prescription drugs purchased in the deductible phase and
donut hole of Medicare Part D;
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covering the cost of Medicare Part D premiums for PACE enrollees;
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covering the difference between co-payments charged by Medicare Part
D and current PACE/PACENET co-payments;
-
eliminating the PACENET $40 a month deductible and replacing it with
a Medicare Part D premium that is less than or equal to the regional
benchmark premium;
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authorizing the Commonwealth to recommend the most appropriate
Medicare Part D plan to PACE/PACENET recipients;
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assisting PACE/PACENET recipients in identifying if they are
eligible for the Medicare low income subsidy.
Vance
has been a leader in the General Assembly to expand and maintain
prescription drug benefits for Pennsylvania's low-income seniors. In
2003 legislation she authored in the House expanded coverage to allow an
additional 100,000 Pennsylvanians to be eligible for prescription drug
coverage. In 2001, she led a successful effort to use a portion of the
state's national tobacco settlement money to increase the income
eligibility limits for the PACENET program by $1,000, extending program
eligibility to thousands more seniors. Finally, in 1995 she was a
member of a group of House Republicans who guided the effort to increase
income eligibility limits for the PACE program and create the PACENET
program to provide access to benefits for middle-income seniors.
Vance's district includes all of Cumberland County and Carroll,
Fairview, Franklin, Monaghan, Warrington and Washington townships and
Dillsburg, Franklintown and Wellsville boroughs in York County.
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