HARRISBURG, September 22, 2000 – State Sen. Raphael J. Musto today announced his support of a comprehensive legislative proposal introduced by Senate Democrats yesterday, calling the plan a strong dose of medicine needed to cure the ills of rising drug costs.

"Our older Pennsylvanians have endured the pains associated with rising prescription drug costs long enough," Musto said. "This Democratic proposal will help ease the financial burden of astronomical drug costs while also giving family caregivers a much needed break."

Senate Democrats introduced bills that would:

• Expand eligibility for the PACE prescription program and give all elderly and disabled Pennsylvanians the ability to purchase prescription drugs at the lower PACE price. Benefits under the FAIRx plan would be financed by pooling all state-related pharmacy programs under a pharmacy benefits manager who would negotiate new rebates from drug manufacturers.

• Expand access to assisted living facilities and personal care homes by increasing the state supplement for low-income Pennsylvanians in such facilities. The supplement would increase $35 per patient per day, and the personal needs allowance would increase from a maximum of $60 per day to a maximum of $75 per day.

• Increase reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses under the Family Care Giver Support Act to $500 per month, or $5,000 for the duration of the case. The current limits are $200 per month or $2,000 for the duration of the case.

• Create a Family Care Giver Tax Credit for care givers that provide assisted living services, instrumental activities of daily living or personal care services. The credit would be 15 percent of amount spent, up to a maximum of $10,000.

• Double funding for the Senior Community Center Capital Assistance Program to a total of $4 million. The state Department of Aging received more than $11 million in requests for projects at senior centers during the 1999-2000 fiscal year. The additional funding would help more senior centers move forward with facility improvements.

• Help long-term care facilities retain and recruit direct care workers through a Caring and Responsible Employees (CARE) rewards program. The program would use an $18.5 million state appropriation to leverage approximately $20 million in federal Medicaid funds. The money would be used to hire additional direct care workers or to increase wages and/or benefits for existing workers.

Senate Democrats are also promoting the Seniors Earning Rebates Volunteering in Schools (SERVIS) program. Under the program, older Pennsylvanians who volunteer in schools would receive a $5 property tax reduction for every hour worked up to 100 hours. Only a handful of Pennsylvania school districts currently offer SERVIS programs.

"The high cost of prescription drugs has become a national issue," Musto said. "By now, everyone has heard the horror stories of our older citizens being hospitalized or even dying because they simply could not afford to buy their medications. These horror stories must stop and will stop if this proposal gets passed into law."

Musto said he will seek action on the proposal when the Senate returns next week.

For more information contact Mike Cotter @717-654-1483 or mcotter@dem.pasen.gov

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