Federal officials have approved a renewal for Wisconsin’s popular prescription drug program for low-income people until 2015. AARP Wisconsin’s Helen Marks Dicks calls SeniorCare a “win-win” as people save money while the program is “not a huge expense to the taxpayer.”
In announcing the renewal today, Governor Scott Walker’s office says the SeniorCare waiver is estimated to have lowered total net Medicaid spending by $146 million in 2011, of which $53 million will be state savings.
The program’s popularity is in part to a simple enrollment process, a $30 annual enrollment fee, income-based deductibles, and co-payments of $5 for generic drugs or $15 for brand drugs.
Since SeniorCare’s 2002 inception, 152,000 Wisconsin seniors have used the program to purchase prescription drugs.
AUDIO: Helen Marks Dicks on SeniorCare’s strengths (:33)
