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History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to access to prescription drug coverage
Purpose or general idea of bill
To ensure that seniors enrolled in the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program (EPIC) continue to have access to benefits when they reside in a nursing home.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of the bill amends section 2804-b of the Public health law to allow for residents of nursing homes licensed pursuant to article 28 of the Public Health Law to obtain EPIC coverage for prescription drugs. Section two sets out the effective date.
Justification
The Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program (EPIC) provides prescription coverage for over 330,000 New York residents over the age of 65. This program enables seniors to save an average of 75% on prescription drug costs each year.
Seniors living in nursing homes, however, are sometimes denied the ability to access their EPIC benefits. These denials result in an undue financial burden as individuals who would be covered under normal circumstances are unfairly denied coverage based on their place of residence. The high cost of health care incurred by residents living in nursing homes is further exacerbated by forcing them to purchase the drugs they need without the discounts EPIC provides. Ensuring that seniors have access to the EPIC benefits to which they are entitled would relieve some of this financial strain.
By requiring nursing homes to allow seniors to access EPIC prescription drug coverage, this bill would provide equal access to the program regardless of a senior citizen's place of residence.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.