What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
History
- Referred to aging
- Referred to aging
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Makes certain persons who are eligible for or receiving social security disability insurance benefits eligible for elderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage
In Assembly Committee · Aging · Sponsor Marcos Crespo
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S985
Title of bill
An act to amend the elder law, in relation to making certain persons who are eligible for or receiving social security disability insurance benefits eligible for elderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage
Purpose
This bill adds low-income disabled persons to the list of persons eligible to receive benefits from New York's (EPIC) program.
Summary of provisions
Amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 242 of the elder law to add persons who are eligible for or receiving social security disability insurance (SSDI) to the list of eligible participants in the EPIC program.
Makes provisions effective immediately upon enactment.
Justification
The EPIC program which offers prescription drug assistance has proven helpful to many senior citizens who face high costs for pharmaceuticals, but do not qualify for Medicaid. Medicare does not cover prescriptions. In recent years, many programs originally designed to benefit senior citizens - ranging from Social Security to real property tax reductions - have been extended to cover disabled persons. This recognizes that through no fault of their own, disabled persons may experience similar limitations on their ability to independently earn a living as do elderly citizens. Advances in pharmaceuticals have also increased their importance in helping disabled persons remain active in their community. Yet, faced with severe income limitations, declining availability of employer-paid health insurance and caps on prescription coverage which are increasingly being implemented by health insurers, many disabled individuals are unable to afford the pharmaceuticals which may be essential to their health. This bill would follow clear precedent in other programs by extending the EPIC program to include low-income disabled individuals.
Legislative history
2006: S.3081 - Referred to Aging 2008: S.2258 - Referred to Aging 2009-10: S.1840 - Referred to Aging
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.