Coming off a successful performance at a major civic association candidates night on Wednesday, Republican candidate for State Senate David Storobin is turning his attention to senior citizen issues with a campaign appearance on Thursday.

Storobin will be at the Sheepshead Bay Adult Care Center on Thursday morning to float a proposal that would restore a key prescription drug benefit that was cut by New York State in its current budget.

Prescription drug bills have soared for seniors who long counted on EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) to help them pay the costs of pharmaceuticals they need to stay healthy. The cost hikes are so severe that seniors are sometimes forced to go without medication because they can’t afford it.

The problem stems from a recent cutback in the state-run EPIC program that took effect at the beginning of the year.

Before the cut, EPIC covered most of the out-of-pocket expenses associated with Medicare Part D prescription drug plans for people over 65-years old. Now, EPIC does not help with out-of-pocket expenses until enrollees reach a new coverage limit (or threshold) of at least $2,900 annually.

Until seniors have spent the new limit, Medicare enrollees are now forced to pay 25 percent of their out-of-pocket drug costs at the pharmacy. The cut in EPIC coverage (up until participants reach the threshold) has become known as the “doughnut hole” for Part D participants.

Although EPIC covers most costs after the threshold is reached, Storobin says the new system is ill-conceived and seriously impacts many seniors’ budgets, putting them in limbo and on the hook.

“This cut in EPIC is having a more profound impact on senior citizens that anyone could have realized. We literally have seniors choosing between prescription drugs that they need and food. I’ve talked to them and we’ve seen stories in the press,” the candidate said.

“Clearly this is not working for too many people. We need to restore the EPIC cuts and find another place in the budget to find the savings.”

Storobin said that the cost of reversing the cut would be about $120 million in the current budget, according to most estimates, a figure that he says would be difficult but not impossible to absorb in the $130-plus billion state spending plan.

“We’re obviously going to have to pay for restoring this cut. But it’s worth it. I think we can find other areas to cut that won’t directly impact seniors’ health as directly. And we should ask big pharmaceutical companies to chip in as well,” he said.

Storobin is proposing a cost-share program to phase in the EPIC restoration shared by the state and a fund established by pharmaceutical companies.

“We can ask big pharmaceutical companies to pay their share and help phase in the cost. It would be unrealistic to ask them to pick it up permanently. But a phased-in cost-share is doable, and I think worth it for the pharmaceutical industry as well,” Storobin said.

(YWN Desk – NYC)