Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6162-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. RR, §6, is further amended to read:

2. Income. Eligibility for this program is determined by the same income levels as eligibility for elderly households is determined under chapter 907, except that individuals are also eligible for this program if the household spends at least 40% of its income that portion of its income that is above the eligibility level on unreimbursed direct medical expenses for prescription drugs and the household income is not more than 25% higher than the levels specified in chapter 907. For the purposes of this subsection, the costs cost of drugs provided to a household under this chapter is considered a cost spent by the household for eligibility determination purposes.

Sec. 2. Rulemaking. The Department of Human Services shall adopt a rule for the purposes of determining eligibility for the Medicaid program that deducts from an individual's or household's income all of the amount of unreimbursed expenses for prescription drugs paid for by the individual or household. Rules adopted pursuant to this provision are routine technical rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

SUMMARY

This bill expands eligibility for the Medicaid program and the elderly low cost drug program. It requires adoption of a rule in the Medicaid program allowing a deduction from income for unreimbursed medical expenses for prescription drugs. It provides for a similar deduction in the elderly low cost drug program.