LAW CUTS DRUG PRICES MEDICARE USERS ELIGIBLE FOR LOWER RATE IN PHARMACIES.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

About 1.3 million California senior citizens with no health insurance beyond Medicare will start receiving steep discounts on prescription drugs under a new law that takes effect today.

The law, which its authors say will help nearly one-third of the state's elderly population, has seniors cheering, saying the high cost of medication sometimes forces those with low incomes to choose between buying food or medicine.

``For those on limited or fixed incomes, it really is a very serious problem,'' said Lois Wellington of Burbank, president of the Congress of California Seniors. ``Older people will say to me, I can't afford this so I cut the pill in half and take a half a day instead of one every day. Well, that's a sad way to try to stay well.''

But local pharmacists forced to reduce their rates are crying foul. They said they agree that seniors should be protected, but believe the law should be aimed at the large drug conglomerates that charge stiff prices, instead of taking money from community drugstores.

``Instead of attacking a powerful lobby, they attacked the weakest segment of the population, which is pharmacies,'' said Barry Pascal, owner of Northridge Pharmacy. ``It really did not and will not accomplish as much as if they addressed the real price of medication.''

The federal Medicare program for senior citizens does not cover prescription drugs. Under the new law, seniors on Medicare who don't have state Medi-Cal coverage or private insurance can buy drugs at the Medi- Cal rate from any pharmacy that accepts Medi-Cal patients.

In some cases that will mean discounts of up to 40 percent, according to one of the bill's co-authors, Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara.

Medicare beneficiaries make up 12 percent of the state's population, but buy 3 percent of all the prescription drugs sold, Jackson said. The federal health insurance is available to those 65 years or older. Younger patients can get Medicare benefits if they have kidney disease or receive disability payments.

Pharmacists said their profit margins already are so slim that they cannot take any more squeezing.

``Managed care has reduced their rates so far that their only place of being properly compensated was from the cash customers,'' said Leo McStroul, owner of Plaza West Pharmacy in Northridge and treasurer of the Pharmacists Professional Society of the San Fernando Valley.

As a result, he added, many pharmacists are forced to add services such as immunizations and diabetes control simply to stay in business.

But the bill's co-author, state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, said the law might actually help community pharmacies by attracting senior citizens for drugs they have been ordering by mail or through the Internet for cheaper prices. This law could persuade seniors to return to pharmacies, she argued.

``It's far better to have that senior come into your pharmacy than to purchase those drugs over the Internet or mail order, which many of them are doing,'' Speier said. ``You bring them back into the pharmacy, they get the sound consultation they should receive, and by the way they pick up . . . toothpaste and toilet tissue while they're there.''

With the bill taking effect today, there remains some confusion about its details.

Canoga Park resident Jason Schram, 74, said he asked at two major chain pharmacies last week, and employees knew little or nothing about the new law.

``I just went to the pharmacies and asked for prices and if they would furnish me with any information,'' he said. ``They said no; they know nothing about it.''

He then talked to the managers of the stores and both separately said they planned to have staff meetings in a few weeks to discuss the law, long after it takes effect.

``I don't think they're brimming with enthusiasm over this one,'' Schram said.