State streamlining PACE, PACENET enrollment forms
DUNBAR – Applicants for both PACE and PACENET prescription drug assistance will have something to celebrate this New Year’s, according to a local legislator. State Sen. Richard Kasunic (D-Dunbar) said that as of Saturday, the lottery-funded program will no longer require applicants to submit age, residence and income documentation. Instead, that information will be verified through data exchanges with various agencies, including the U.S. Social Security Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System.
However, applicants must still certify that the information submitted is accurate and complete.
According to Kasunic, nearly 11 percent of first-time PACE/PACENET enrollees do not re-enroll, and 25 percent of new applications are sent in without all of the necessary information.
“We found that people were still having trouble with filling out the forms,” said Kasunic.
He added that some of the extra steps in the application process were eliminated to encourage more seniors to apply and re-enroll in the program, administered by the state Department of Aging.
Despite the number of agencies and offices that provide assistance with the application process, Kasunic said people would still get confused when filling out the current forms.
The state’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE), launched in 1984, provides prescription assistance to 192,000 Pennsylvania seniors.
The PACE Needs Enhancement Tier (PACENET) was created in 1996 and now assists nearly 98,000 seniors whose income limits fall just above PACE limits.
“The PACE and PACENET program is streamlining the application requirements to help more senior citizens enroll and qualify for the program’s lower drug costs,” Kasunic said.
He noted that baby boomers nearing retirement age will not affect the application revisions.
“We just wanted to make it easier for (current applicants), said Kasunic.
To qualify for PACE/PACENET, applicants must be 65 or older and must reside in Pennsylvania for at least 90 days before the date of application.
Married applicants to the PACE program must have a combined income that doesn’t exceed $17,700, while a single applicant’s income must not exceed $14,500, based on their previous calendar year’s income or with their 2002 income, through March 31, 2004.
The income levels were raised last year for PACENET applicants and fall between $14,500 and $23,500 for a single person and $17,000 and $31,500 for married couples.
If incorrect information is reported, applicants may be asked to reimburse the program if they are found ineligible for certain benefits.
As part of the program, PACE applicants are required to pay a $6 co-payment for generic prescriptions and a $9 co-payment for brand names, while PACENET enrollees are required to pay a $40 monthly deductible before prescription reimbursement begins, in addition to an $8 co-payment for generic medications and $15 for brand name prescriptions.
In the past, Kasunic said, the Legislature had to tweak the system and did prop up the program a few times.
He said the program looks healthy, and he is positive that the Legislature will continue to support the program in various ways in order to keep it afloat.