Delaware prescription drug assistance program for seniors restored

This time last year, April Willey's "worst dream" came true. She needed to have the conversation with her 88-year-old mother that she had been dreading. 

The Delaware Prescription Assistance Program, which helped cover prescription and over-the-counter drug costs for low-income Delaware seniors, had been cut.

It provided up to $3,000 every year for people like Willey's mother.

"I know that many seniors have to make critical choices: 'Whether I pay for food or gas or whether I pay for prescriptions,'" Willey said. 

"She was OK and we made sure of it," she said of her mother. "What about those who didn't have family support and covering their back and taking care of them? It's very sad."

Last year, the General Assembly cut the $1.6 million program. State officials said at the time the number of residents using the program has decreased in recent years and that by 2020 the program would no longer be needed. 

But in June, the program was restored. Legislation to reauthorize $2 million for the program was passed without opposition. State officials say the only major change to the program is now seniors who are eligible don't have to reapply every year. 

Seniors who depended on the program told The News Journal last fall the cut would be a blow to their tight budgets. Some were concerned that they would have to ration their medicine. 

"Part of me was very relieved," Willey said of the program being restored. "And the other part was wondering: 'Why did this have to happen in the first place?'"

The assistance program will begin to cover prescriptions starting Jan. 1, 2019, said Cindy Denemark, a pharmacist administrator for the state's Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance. 

She said letters will be sent out to seniors in October who used to be a part of the program, which will describe how they can reapply. 

Residents who qualify for the program have to be at least 65 or on Social Security; below 200 percent of the federal poverty level or have prescription costs that are at least 40 percent of their income; and not eligible for other prescription coverage through other state, federal or private programs.

Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, said the program should have "never been cut in the first place."

He credited it to the "fast and furious cuts" that occurred last year when the General Assembly attempted to pass the budget, which happened on July 2. It was the first time in decades the Legislature missed its June 30 deadline. 

Townsend said legislators realized how important it was after "the dust settled." When the session began in January, it was clear many legislators wanted to revive the program, he said. 

About 5,300 were actively enrolled in the program as of December 2015, according to the Delaware Prescription Assistance Program's 2016 Annual Report. This was a decrease from 6,088 in 2014.  

Denemark said the state expects fewer than 5,000 people will be a part of the program in 2019.

The Delaware Prescription Assistance Program was first created in 2000 when the General Assembly created the Delaware Health Fund, which received money from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.

Major tobacco companies agreed in the settlement to pay annual amounts to 46 states to compensate for the medical costs of caring for people with smoking-related illnesses. 

Carolyn Townsend, who is not related to the senator, spoke to The News Journal last year about how the program helped her 87-year-old mother remain financially independent. The money she saved on medication allowed her to pay her phone, rent, cable and grocery bills.

Townsend's mother, like other Delaware seniors, had to re-evaluate her finances when the program was cut. For the past year, Townsend has helped support her. 

Under her mother's Medicare Part D Plan, Silverscript, premiums are about $29.50 and copays are about $3, Townsend said. She said her family is lucky since the costs are lower than they expected, though "there are people out there who couldn't afford $30."

Townsend described the news of the prescription program coming back as "wonderful."

"We will definitely sign up for it," she said. 

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Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.