Program to get financial boost

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's prescription drug program for low-income seniors will get a boost of up to $12 million in federal tax revenue, Gov. Frank O'Bannon said Thursday.\nFrom its beginning in July 2002, the Hoosier Rx program has been funded entirely by the state, using money from the national tobacco settlement.\n"But we learned today that the federal government recognizes our efforts to help deserving seniors and is helping us to do so," O'Bannon said.\nIndiana became the sixth state with a prescription drug program to win approval of federal matching dollars from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The other states are Florida, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina and Wisconsin.\nHoosier Rx pays 50 percent of drug costs for some residents age 65 or older who do not have prescription drug coverage through an insurance plan or Medicaid. The benefit is capped between $500 and $1,000 a year, depending on income.\nThe program serves seniors with incomes up to 135 percent of the federal poverty level. That means an annual income of $11,964 or less for single seniors, or $16,128 or less for couples.\nMore than 13,500 seniors are enrolled in the program, far fewer than the estimated 55,000 state officials believe could qualify. The O'Bannon administration wants to increase the number in the program to 30,000.\nThe state expects to spend about $7 million on the program this year.\nSeparate budget plans passed by House Democrats and Senate Republicans in the General Assembly would spend up to $8 million in state money on the program in each of the next two years. Federal matching dollars could increase that to $20 million per year.\nBecause of the state's budget crunch, the O'Bannon administration wants to enroll more seniors under current guidelines before it considers expanding income eligibility.\nState lawmakers trying to complete a new, two-year state budget welcomed approval of the federal waiver. For months, there has been little to celebrate about the state's finances.\n"We are very pleased to have some positive news," said House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend.