Law increases income eligibility for prescription drug coverage

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Gov. Tom Wolf recently signed into law a bill that increases the income eligibility guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly Needs Enhancement Tier (PACENET) program, which extends prescription drug coverage to more than 17,000 Pennsylvania seniors.

The program allows Pennsylvanians age 65 and older to purchase low-cost prescription drugs.

“The income limits haven’t changed in 14 years,” Rep. Frank Farry (R-Bucks), who authored the bill, said. “That’s quite a long time both for seniors who are currently in the program and risk disqualification due to a change in income and for seniors who are trying to enroll in the program for the first time.”

The bill increases the annual maximum income limits by $4,000 to $27,500 for a single person and to $35,500 for a married couple.

Nearly 282,000 Pennsylvanians receive low-cost drugs from the PACENET and the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) programs.

The bill also creates two new pharmacy-based programs under the PACE program to assist seniors in monitoring their prescription drug usage.

The programs are funded from proceeds of the state lottery. PACENET expansion was achieved without additional funds from the lottery or taxpayer dollars. It also is without additional costs from enrollees.