Sec. 4. 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 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 according to Title 22, section 254, subsection 2. For the purposes of this subsection, the costs of drugs provided to a household under this chapter is considered a cost spent by the household for eligibility determination purposes.

Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §6162-A, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 528, §2, is repealed.

SUMMARY

This bill expands eligibility for the elderly low-cost drug program to 300%, with persons above 185% paying increased co- payments on a sliding scale of the federal poverty line. It preserves the provisions that allow eligibility to be determined in part on the cost of prescription drugs. It expands the prescription drugs available under the program to the same prescription drugs that are offered under the Medicaid program. It also adds eligibility for disabled persons to the Medicaid waiver application for a Medicaid prescription drug program.