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SeniorCare Long Term Renewal Good For Older Adults: Director

Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services

The federal government has notified the state of Wisconsin its SeniorCare program has been extended for 10 years, which is good news for 50,000 older Wisconsin adults on the program.

SeniorCare makes prescription drugs available to people 65 and older for between five-and-10 dollars, with no gaps in coverage. Users pay 30-dollars-a-year.

Oneida County Aging and Disability Resource Center Director Dianne Jacobson says state residents using the program should be pleased...

"The thing I was all older Wisconsinites to realize is and appreciate is we're one of the few states that has this kind of plan. SeniorCare is unique to Wisconsin. It was created before Medicare Part "D", the prescription drug plan came out on the federal level. It is necessary to have it renewed occasionally. A ten-year renewal is outstanding..."

Jacobson says for people with lower incomes, the program makes a difference...

"For some people on the lower end of the income level, it's a great way to get their prescription drugs. Others may not be on any prescription drugs but need to have a plan. If you're on Medicare you need to be on a prescription drug plan, or else there ends up being some penalties. It is a wonderful, cost-effective way to meet that requirement, especially for those not on any medications...."

Members of both political parties say the program is a success 17 years after it was first put into place. Extensions are normally for three years, so the 10-year announcement is being called good, and unusual. The program requires less paperwork and less co-pay costs than Medicare's Part D prescription drug plan.

Unlike Medicare, which is banned by law from negotiating drug prices, SeniorCare can negotiate and costs are lower.

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