Due to concerns that SeniorCare would change for the worse under Gov. Scott Walker’s new budget proposal, Assembly Democrats and Wisconsin senior citizen advocates held a press conference Wednesday to announce the circulation of a statewide petition to ensure the continuation of the program in its current form.
Rep. Andy Jorgensen, D-Fort Atkinson, and leaders from the Wisconsin Aging Network and Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups each took turns speaking about the harmful effects Walker’s biennial budget would have on SeniorCare, which they said could be prevented by way of a petition.
“SeniorCare is one of those rare win-win programs. It’s good for taxpayers and it’s good for participants,” Jorgensen said. “I hope that when Gov. Walker and legislative leaders see the overwhelming public support SeniorCare has, they will do the right thing and approve its continuation.”
In 2007, Assembly Democrats ran a similar petition drive to convince the federal government to continue Wisconsin’s SeniorCare program, the only program of its kind in the United States, Jorgensen added. Ultimately the program was allowed to continue.
SeniorCare covers prescription drug prices to Wisconsin residents over the age of 65 who cannot apply for full benefits under medical assistance programs. Once a SeniorCare participant meets their deductible, ranging from $500 to $850, they can obtain prescription drugs covered by the program by paying a $5 or $15 co-payment for generic and brand name drugs, respectively.
SeniorCare expenditures totaled nearly $115 million in 2009-2010, but the state paid only 30 percent while the rest came from drug manufacturer company rebates. Those expenditures were roughly 8 percent less than the prior year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Walker’s biennial budget proposal would reduce the state’s monetary role in SeniorCare benefits by $30 million and drug manufacturer rebates by almost $25 million. To do this, Walker proposes requiring SeniorCare participants to apply for and, if eligible, enroll in Medicare Part D, a program started in 2006 offered through private insurance plans.
Medicare Part D, however, is not a viable alternative to SeniorCare, senior citizen health care advocates at the press conference said.
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Executive Director Nino Amato said enrolling in Medicare Part D would cost senior citizens a minimum of $14.80 per month, compared to the price of SeniorCare enrollment – $30 a year.
“It was created because many seniors were going without their prescriptions drugs because they had to make decisions between pain or their utility bill,” Amato said. “Many of them were also skipping every other day or breaking their medication in half.”
He added SeniorCare is the only program in the country that allows bargaining for the lowest possible cost of prescriptions from pharmaceutical companies.
SeniorCare is a popular program among Wisconsinites, including Republicans who tend to oppose increases in government welfare programs.
During the agency budget hearings before the Joint Finance Committee that took place at the end of March, committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said to Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith she was concerned about the changes to SeniorCare.
“People are very concerned about what’s happening,” Darling said to Smith during his testimony on April 6. “I think we need to look at the SeniorCare program and make sure we look at how we preserve it.”
