03/07/07 Seniorcare Works, So Help It Survive

Seniorcare Works, So Help It Survive

The Capital Times
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
SEN. MARK MILLER

Since Sept. 1, 2002, nearly 110,000 Wisconsin seniors have participated in the state's SeniorCare prescription drug program. This innovative plan helps Wisconsin residents at least 65 years old pay for their prescriptions. In 2006 alone, Gov. Jim Doyle estimates SeniorCare saved state residents almost $200 million.

The Bush administration has now threatened to end support for SeniorCare in Wisconsin. Without federal dollars, the popular and successful SeniorCare program might come to an end, forcing Wisconsin seniors to enroll in a private prescription drug insurance program with higher costs to both individuals and taxpayers. Wisconsin residents need to contact the president and tell him how important SeniorCare is to our seniors.

SeniorCare is a relatively simple program. A person signs up and pays a $30 annual enrollment fee. Participants make a co-payment of $5 for generic drugs and $15 for brand-name drugs. There are other cost-sharing requirements, depending on the annual income of the participant.

After the Legislature passed the SeniorCare bill and the governor signed it into law, we needed permission from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to be able to offer SeniorCare to our state's older residents. SeniorCare uses federal Medicaid dollars to help pay the costs.

SeniorCare enjoys strong bipartisan support in Wisconsin. We all recognize the program's great value to many of our residents. As an AARP study points out, 94 percent of participants in SeniorCare are better off in the program than they would be under the federal Medicare Part D prescription plan. Additionally, Wisconsin's SeniorCare saves the federal government nearly $500 on each participant when compared to Medicare Part D.

SeniorCare is simple, popular and cost-effective for participants and taxpayers and enjoys strong bipartisan support. So what's the problem? Wisconsin's waiver -- or permission to use Medicaid dollars for SeniorCare -- is set to expire on June 30. Without an extension, thousands of Wisconsin residents could lose the ability to pay for their prescription medications.

Gov. Doyle has asked the Bush administration for an extension of the federal waiver. One hundred and twenty-one Republicans and Democrats together wrote to our congressional delegation to enlist their help in getting the waiver extended. We are trying to convince President Bush, through his secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to allow Wisconsin seniors to continue to be able to participate in the successful SeniorCare program. The decision rests with President Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

* If you would like to join Wisconsin legislators and Gov. Doyle in asking for an extension of the federal waiver so that SeniorCare can continue, write to Secretary Mike Leavitt, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.

President Bush's address is: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. You can leave comments at: 202-456-1111. Share with them what SeniorCare has meant to you or your relatives.

SeniorCare is a pioneering success for our older Wisconsin residents. It must continue.