Twenty states have enacted state prescription drug assistance for the elderly. Some programs including those in Maine and New Jersey have been in place for over ten years. Each assistance program is unique, but they often share particular features, including enrollee income limits and manufacturer rebates. Tobacco settlement moneys have made creating new assistance programs and enhancing existing ones more fiscally feasible. Federally Qualified Health Centers have been used by some states to increase access to lower prescription drugs.
Maine is currently the only state which has addressed caps on prescription drug prices.
Although the U.S. Congress has discussed prescription drug prices, the House and Senate have not agreed upon one particular approach. The presidential candidates' discussion of such coverage has helped to sustain America's interest in the issue. She answered questions about pharmaceutical assistance programs. Ms. Doherty discussed the number of elderly who do not have prescription drug coverage. The Coloradans who are most vulnerable to lack of drug coverage are those people who have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and do not qualify for Medicaid.