Prescription Assistance for Alaskan Seniors in Jeopardy

Alaska’s health assistance program for seniors 65+, SeniorCare, is in danger of being ended on June 30, 2007 unless the stae agrees to re-fund the program.

SeniorCare is a needs-based program providing cash assistance and prescription drug benefits. SeniorCare pays $120 per month to qualifying Alaskans with an annual income less than 135 percent of the federal poverty guideline. There are approximately 6,600 participants receiving cash assistance. Additionally, there are approximately 150 persons participating in the drug benefit.

The program is currently being debated in the state’s legislative session. The real issue is trying to fund the program that once cost less than $10 million a year to run, but would need an estimated $34 million a year to continue. The other issue is that the proposed extension of the program would NOT allow any new enrollees - which could open the state up to legal action that would require care be extended to ALL qualified seniors in the state.

The exact state of Alaska’s SeniorCare program is not yet known. There are three sticking points that must be addressed before the extension of the program can be passed, but Alaska is not unique in its quest to provide medical assistance to those who cannot pay. Hawaii’s program is also in a state of peril. We can only hope that the state governments are able to extend the support that the citizens so desperately need.