Topeka — Democratic leaders presented a plan Wednesday to expand the state's year-old prescription drug program for senior citizens.
"The skyrocketing costs of health care, in particular prescription drugs, are leaving many Kansas seniors with the impossible choice of either putting food on the table, heating their homes or paying for necessary medicines," said House Minority Leader Jim Garner, D-Coffeyville.
Under the current program, Kansans 67 years old or older with incomes less than one and a half times the federal poverty level are eligible for up to $1,200 per year for prescription drugs.
An estimated 15,000 people are eligible, but about 1,000 have received the aid.
The money comes from interest earned by the Senior Pharmacy Trust Fund, which has more than $60 million in assets. The fund was created by the state by setting aside federal Medicaid reimbursements.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said expanding the prescription program could provide benefits to approximately 30,000 more Kansans annually.
"It provides assistance to less than one out of every five senior citizens who are eligible, leaving tens of thousands of eligible Kansas seniors out in the cold," said Hensley, D-Topeka.
The Democratic plan would spend $17 million a year for three years on the program, with $13.8 million going for prescription drug assistance; $3.2 million for Kansans facing catastrophic drug costs; and $500,000 for health insurance counseling for seniors.
John Reinhart, spokesman for AARP of Kansas, said the existing plan was inadequate in terms of numbers of participants and its design, requiring seniors to pay for the drugs first and then be reimbursed.
"This is significant in that it would impact the lives of a lot of seniors," said Reinhart, adding that the proposal will need further review. "The program the state has now is just not getting the job done."
Hensley and Garner also warned against efforts by legislators to use the $51 million they want to spend on the prescription drug program to shore up a projected $426 million gap in the state budget.
However, Budget Director Duane Goossen said the prescription proposal is flawed because legislators decided in 2001 to use whatever money was left in the trust fund to pay for other programs in fiscal 2004.
"It's a fine program if you can afford it, but they haven't given us a way to afford it," Goossen said.
If the money is spent, he said, legislators will have to hope that the slumping state economy has rebounded enough to cover the cost of the drug program and fill the $51 million hole that Democrats would create.
Don Brown, spokesman for Gov. Bill Graves, said the Democrats' proposal was not fiscally responsible.
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