Ohio s discount drug plan expanding
17-Jan-2007: While Congress debates whether the government should negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare patients, Ohio already does it for thousands of people who use the state's Best Rx drug discount card.
The card is free and, beginning in April, an additional 105,000 people will be eligible to use one when income requirements are raised for those under 60 years old. That means nearly a quarter million Ohioans will qualify, in addition to any senior, regardless of income, according to Jennifer Lopez, who oversees the program at the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.
Other changes eliminate a four-week waiting period for people who lost drug coverage when they lost their job, and allow people who get workers' compensation drug benefits to participate.
And Lopez said that thanks to a little-known change in the Medicare drug benefit, the Best Rx card may be used by seniors even if they have Medicare drug coverage. The discount card can cut the cost of a prescription during the so-called doughnut hole gap in coverage when Medicare drug plan members have to pay the prescription's full price. They can also count the purchase toward the $3,850 they have to spend before their coverage can resume.
Best Rx will also replace the drug discount available with the Ohio Department of Aging's Golden Buckeye card for people 60 and older. After July 1, seniors using the Buckeye card will automatically get the Best Rx discount.
"By almost every indicator, the Best Rx discounts were better," said Lopez.
The Best Rx card cut the price of a brand-name drug by an average of 21 percent in December, and for a generic drug by 51 percent.
Some 27 companies offer rebates on 230 drugs. Envision Pharmaceutical Services, which runs the program, passes along the full rebate to consumers. Pharmacies also offer discounts.
The savings come despite the fact that the state couldn't enforce a requirement in the law that created Best Rx that says Best Rx rebates from drug makers should be equivalent to the average rebates the companies offer the six state employee and retiree drug plans.
But the private pharmacy benefit managers that run the state plans have contracts with drug manufacturers that prevent disclosure of rebate amounts.
Source: CleveLand.com
