Rx program for elderly left intact Court ruling struck just Maine prescription plan

AUGUSTA – Thirty-six thousand Mainers will continue to receive prescription drug discounts despite last week’s federal appeals court ruling that struck down the Healthy Maine Prescriptions program.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last Tuesday ruled that Healthy Maine, which provided drug discounts to more than 110,000 low- and moderate-income residents, was an inappropriate expansion of the federal Medicaid program.

About 76,000 people lost their benefits when the state responded by suspending the program, which offered discounts of about 25 percent to people with incomes between 185 and 300 percent of the poverty level.

But a companion program called Low Cost Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled is not affected, the state Department of Human Services said.

Drugs for the elderly offers people with incomes of up to 185 percent of the poverty level 80 percent discounts for drugs prescribed for 12 major disease groups.

Participants must be at least 65 years old or 19 and disabled and cannot receive full Medicaid benefits.

Meanwhile, state Human Services Commissioner Kevin Concannon is advising Mainers who are enrolled in Healthy Maine Prescriptions to hold onto their discount cards, even though the state has suspended the program.

Rather than appeal last week’s decision, the state will try to resolve the court’s concerns so the program can be reinstated, the commissioner said.

DHS spokesman Newell Augur said the court’s ruling was based on a “technical and very narrow” issue that would be better addressed by appealing directly to the Bush administration.

“We’re still very hopeful we’re going to be able to resurrect this program in the near future,” said Augur, adding that DHS is processing applications for both prescription programs.