Instructs Cabinet to Hold Prescription Drug Forums for Beneficiaries

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced plans to extend Rhode Island’s efforts to cover the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens and adults with disabilities who were recently transferred from the federal Medicaid program to the new federal Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

The Governor also directed Jane Hayward, the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (OHHS), and Corinne Russo, the Director of the Department of Elderly Affairs (DEA), to convene a series of public meetings to seek input from Rhode Island seniors on problems they may be experiencing with, or concerns they might have about, the implementation of the new federal drug program.

“Everyone knows that the federal government has experienced problems implementing the new Medicare Part D program,” Governor Carcieri said. “Early on, many Rhode Islanders were having difficulty getting the prescriptions filled, or were being charged for full cost of their medications. While implementing Medicare Part D is a federal government problem, it has seriously impacted Rhode Island’s senior citizens and adults with disabilities.”

“I responded to this challenge by ordering that Rhode Island’s program for helping seniors and adults with disabilities pay for their drugs through Medicaid be reinstituted on a temporary basis,” the Governor continued. “My first priority was to help Rhode Island beneficiaries access the prescription drugs they need and deserve, despite the fact that this is really a federal government problem. The good news is that re-instituting the previous system has worked for most beneficiaries. I’m also pleased to report that the federal government has promised to reimburse Rhode Island for our expenses.”

“Today, I have informed my cabinet that we will extend Rhode Island’s efforts for another month, so that the federal government has time to completely fix the problems with Medicare Part D implementation,” Carcieri said. “I have also asked Jane Hayward and Corinne Russo to convene a series of meetings across the state to listen to our seniors’ concerns about Medicare Part D. Because Medicare is a federal program that is out of the control of state officials, we will ask Rhode Island’s federal delegation to send representatives to these meetings to help us determine what Congress can do to address the problems being faced by Rhode Islanders.”

On January 1st, the federal government instituted a new program, Medicare Part D, designed to help senior citizens and adults with disabilities access affordable prescription drugs. Previously, Medicare did not cover the cost of prescription drugs. Many low-income seniors and adults with disabilities were afforded prescription drug coverage through Medicaid. The federal government was supposed to transfer these “dual eligible” individuals from the old Medicaid program to the new Medicare Part D program. Unfortunately, after January 1st, many seniors and adults with disabilities found that their information had not been properly transferred and, as a result, experienced problems getting their prescriptions filled.

On January 11th, Governor Carcieri signed an executive order directing that Rhode Island’s system for paying the costs of these prescriptions through the Medicaid program, which had been terminated on January 1st, be re-instituted. Since that time, and as of January 29th, Rhode Island has processed approximately 10,500 prescriptions for 4,452 beneficiaries at a cost of $454,828.56. In recent weeks, the federal government has promised to reimburse Rhode Island for its expenses in covering the cost of prescription drugs that should have been covered by the federal Medicare Part D program.

Although the Governor’s executive order was set to expire at the end of January, the federal government has not completed its efforts to fully implement Medicare Part D. The Governor continues to be determined to ensure that all Rhode Island beneficiaries can access the medications to which they are entitled. Consequently, Governor Carcieri today announced his plans to sign a new executive order to extend Rhode Island’s efforts to cover the cost of these prescription medications for another month, or until the federal issues are resolved.

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