Senate Leadership
March 17, 2009
Senate Democrats Urge Speedy Implementation of Prescription Drug Plan for Seniors
ConnPACE Plus will save seniors more than $1,000 per year and provide $4.8 million in state savings
Speaking out in support of the ConnPACE Plus. Left to right: State Representative Linda Schofield, House Speaker Chris Donovan, Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams, House Majority Leader Denise Merrill and Tracy Younger, director of the Permanent Commision on the Status of Women. (March 17, 2009)
Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn), Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden), Representative Linda Schofield (D-Simsbury), Senator Paul Doyle (D-Wethersfield), and volunteers with the AARP on Wednesday are calling for speedy implementation of a proposal called ConnPACE Plus, which provides $4.6 million in state savings and was included in the deficit mitigation plan that passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor.
“In tough economic times this is exactly the type of thing we should be doing to help our seniors," said Senator Williams. "Not only are we putting money directly in their pocket, this initiatives saves the state million of dollars.”
“As a result of this legislation, people on ConnPACE will see their Social Security checks grow by over $1,000 per year and they’ll pay less for drugs and other Medicare co-pays,” Rep. Schofield said, “We are also cutting state costs.”
“Years ago Connecticut broke new ground with its ConnPACE program, and that low-cost plan to help senior citizens and disabled residents secure much-needed prescription medications has been a model for other states ever since,” said Senator Doyle, Senate Chair of the legislature’s Human Services Committee. “This move to ConnPACE Plus, wherein our state maximizes the federal share of prescription drug costs for individual residents — to the cost-saving benefit of ConnPACE clients and taxpayers alike — again underscores our commitment to help seniors and the disabled acquire their prescribed meds and maintain a dignified, high-quality way of life without spending their life’s savings to do so.”
ConnPACE members, who are all seniors and disabled persons with limited incomes, will qualify for the following new benefits:
- Their Medicare part B premiums will be paid for, saving them $96.40/month, $1,156.80/year;
- Their prescription copays will be lowered from the ConnPACE copay of $16.25 to $2.25 for generics and $5.60 for brand drugs;
- And some people with very low incomes will get other Medicare cost sharing covered, such as the deductibles and copays for physician and hospital services.
Schofield explained, “ConnPACE is funded with state money. We’ll now give ConnPACE enrollees the opportunity to become eligible for largely federally funded programs. So we’ll be substituting state dollars with federal dollars.”
The legislation gives senior citizens and disabled persons on ConnPACE the chance to be eligible for the Medicare Savings Program (MSP). Under federal law, persons eligible for the MSP program are automatically also eligible for federal “extra help” under Medicare Part D, in addition to the benefits available in the MSP programs.
The savings in ConnPACE will be $35 million, because the federal “extra help” benefits will substitute for ConnPACE benefits. These savings in ConnPACE are off-set by the state share of costs for the MSP benefits, which will be $30.4 million. Thus, the net fiscal impact on the State is a savings of $4.6 million per year.
In addition to the savings for the State, the improved benefits will put an estimated $47 million per year into the pockets of low-income disabled and senior citizens in CT. Rep. Schofield said, “They can surely use those funds at this time, and as they spend that federal money, it will act as a mini-economic stimulus plan right here in our state.
Lance Johnson, AARP Health and Supportive Services Advocacy Lead said, “AARP would like to thank legislators for voting to reject devastating cuts to ConnPACE in the recently passed deficit mitigation plan. The changes would have thrown thousands of lower-income seniors off the program and cut benefits for those that remained. Instead, legislators chose a different approach, supported by AARP, that will save the state money by maximizing federal dollars and actually expands benefits for most ConnPACE enrollees. This is the kind of ‘out of the box’ thinking we need and appreciate from our leaders during this economic crisis. We urge legislators to include ConnPACE Plus in the final Budget for FY2010-2011.
“We’ve learned from experience that we cannot balance the budget on the backs of low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Deep cuts to vital health care services such as ConnPACE will only end up costing the state dearly in the long run.”
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Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
