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Posted
February 05, 2008

State considering changes to Best Rx pharmacy discount program

"With enrollment in the Ohio's Best Rx leveling off and the prescription drug discount program yet to become self-sufficient, officials are rethinking how the state-run initiative fits into the future of the evolving pharmaceutical marketplace." (Source: Gongwer News, Feb. 4, 2008.) Ohio's Best Rx is a state prescription drug discount program which provides prescription discounts to elderly, disabled and uninsured citizens; the program resulted from a collaboration between major drug manufacturers, state policymakers and a union-backed coalition.

According to Department of Aging Director Barbara Riley, because the program is not self-supporting as originally planned, funding for the program "is being realigned as part of the agency's budget recalibration under Gov. Ted Strickland's package of fiscal maneuvers aimed at resolving a $733 million budget imbalance." Riley added, though, that the department is not ending the program, which will be funded from non-GRF sources through the end of the biennium. Instead, her department is studying how the program fits with all the retailer drug discounts offered by grocery chains, especially since many of these chain stores offer similar drug discounts to the program. The average number of monthly participants in the program from July-December 2007 was 20,842, with an average of 50,337 prescriptions filled each month.

"Best Rx is open to any Ohio resident without prescription insurance coverage who is either age 60 or older (regardless of income) or under age 60 with an annual household income at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Under 2008 federal guidelines released this week, an individual who earns $31,200 a year ($2,600/month) is eligible for a Best Rx card. Similarly, a family of four with an annual household income of $63,600 ($5,300/month) or less per year is eligible." (Source: "Ohio's Best Rx updates eligibility guidelines," Lancaster Eagle Gazette, Feb. 2, 2008.)

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