At a Capitol news conference this week, Yudichak and other legislators said a Medicaid waiver could help as many as 2 million Pennsylvanians save 25 percent or more on the cost of their prescriptions. Legislators asked Ridge to seek a waiver in March, but so far, the governor has taken no action. Meanwhile, the prescription bills of many seniors are piling up.
Someone needs to take action now.
Yudichak said the federal government already has granted Medicaid waivers to Maine and Vermont. Such a Medicaid waiver in Pennsylvania would reduce prescription costs for seniors and families whose incomes are up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level but who do not qualify for state-sponsored or other prescription drug benefit programs. These individuals would not be placed on Medicaid, but they would be permitted to purchase prescriptions at Pennsylvania's discounted Medicaid rate. In Maine, Yudichak said, tens of thousands of residents already are saving as much as 35 percent on prescription costs. Yudichak said the best part of the Medicaid waiver proposal is that it could help millions of moderate-income seniors and others afford prescriptions while costing Pennsylvania taxpayers nothing.