Assembly Sends Governor Bill on Drug Subsidy for Senior Citizens
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About 7,500 low- and moderate-income Maryland senior citizens would be eligible for a subsidy for their prescription drugs under legislation that cleared the General Assembly today.
Under a deal lawmakers reached with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, seniors would be able to close a gap in Medicare drug coverage known as a doughnut hole. The Medicare benefit, passed by Congress in 2003, covers annual costs up to $2,510, but seniors then have to pay all of their drug costs until total spending out of pocket hits $4,000. Coverage kicks back in after that.
The new subsidy would be available to seniors with incomes from Social Security benefits or retirement plans up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, about $30,000 for a single person. CareFirst has agreed to pay the annual $7 million cost of the program. The benefit would average $1,000 per person, with the exact amount depending on a senior's drug costs.
Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who announced the deal last month with House Health Committee Chairman Peter A. Hammen (D-Baltimore), is expected to sign the bill.
-- Lisa Rein
Help for War Veterans Advances
The Senate voted unanimously yesterday to pass legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to close gaps in federal care for returning veterans by establishing a $3.5 million pilot program to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan obtain care for mental and behavioral health problems.
The bill was a key component of the legislative agenda of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), who is an Iraq war veteran. A similar bill is pending in the House, which has not voted on it.
-- Philip Rucker
Unanimous Vote for Bill on Military Deaths
The Senate voted unanimously yesterday to make it a crime to use the name or picture of a dead military service member in a for-profit enterprise without permission from the service member's relatives.
The Fallen Soldier Privacy Act exempts news agencies that report on the deaths of service members, as well as politicians and artists. The bill was inspired by events following the 2006 death in combat of Army Pfc. Eric M. Kavanagh, 20, of Severna Park. Kavanagh's family objected that his name was used on T-shirts and other items for sale.
A similar bill already passed unanimously in the House.
-- Philip Rucker
