AUGUSTA – The federal government has begun repaying the state for medicine bought for seniors and disabled people who could not get help during the transition to the new Medicare drug program.

The first payment of $5.5 million is in the pipeline, Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance, said Monday.

Another $3 million is owed, and the state expects to be reimbursed for that, as well, she said.

Gov. John Baldacci made the decision last January to tap the general fund for emergency money to help senior citizens and disabled people who were encountering problems with the Medicare-Part D program that went into effect on Jan. 1.

“Early on, we were unclear when the governor made the decision to step in and make sure people had their drugs, we weren’t sure whether we’d be repaid. So it’s good news that these funds have come forward,” Riley said.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, made the announcement that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is repaying the money.

For months, Snowe had pressed the Bush administration to ensure that Maine was fully reimbursed for the costs it incurred.

Seven other states – Arkansas, California, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Virginia – have been authorized to date to receive their initial drug claims reimbursement, she said. The money is being delivered via electronic transfer, she said.

Riley said there are still some problems with the Medicare Part D program, but it’s nothing like the startup problems in January.

When the new drug benefit went into effect, many low-income seniors or disabled residents were unable to get their prescription drugs or were charged big co-payments due to errors made by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

When the program started on Jan. 1, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services was receiving 10,000 to 11,000 reports of problems daily, Riley said. These days, the state is getting reports of 2,500 problems a week, she said.

“There are kinks in the program that need to be ironed out,” Riley said.

Most problems are centered on either co-payments that are too high or questions about which drug plan is best, she said.