Governors back Medicare plan for 'dual eligibles'.Skyrocketing prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, costs have pushed the nation's 50 governors together to try to shift some of the burden back to the federal government. The federal government once paid most of the cost of prescription drugs for seniors covered under Medicare and Medicaid Medicare and Medicaid U.S. government programs in effect since 1966. Medicare covers most people 65 or older and those with long-term disabilities. Part A, a hospital insurance plan, also pays for home health visits and hospice care. . Over the years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time burden has gradually shifted to the states. "The cost of prescription drugs takes up about one third of states' Medicaid budget. It has become a tremendous part of their budget," said Kevin Goldsmith, director of the Kentucky/Washington D.C. office for Gov. Paul Patton in Frankfort, Ky. U.S. states A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and pay a combined $7 billion annually for prescription drugs. Patton is spearheading a movement to add prescription drug benefits to the more than 6 million elderly and disabled Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Patton and other governors hope to persuade federal lawmakers to include the drug benefit changes in House and Senate bills on Medicare reform currently under debate on Capitol Capitol, seat of the U.S. Congress Capitol, seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant. Hill. The governors favor the House version of the bill, which would give drug coverage to all Medicare recipients and phase out states' obligations to pay drug costs over 15 years. The Senate version would deny Medicare drug coverage to anyone who is also eligible for Medicaid. These persons are known as "dual eligibles." All 50 governors recently signed a letter to House negotiator Rep. Bill Thomas For other people with similar names, see . William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941), commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979–2007, representing the 22nd District of , R-Calif., urging lawmakers to keep the House's full-coverage provision in the final version of the bill.. Although dual eligibles do receive some drug benefits, declining economies have forced many states to find ways to "minimize" their prescription drug benefits by coming up with "formularies," which effectively leave off some medications from the list of those covered by Medicaid, said Barbara Manard, vice president of the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
Ideally, states would like to strike a compromise where the federal government would cover "dual eligibles" while the states would pick up the remaining uncovered costs, Goldsmith said. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion