Res. No. 2039 Title Resolution calling upon the Legislature of the State of New York to adopt S1165A, a bill which would amend the executive law, in relation to limiting the cost-sharing responsibilities of eligible participants in the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Program (EPIC) to five percent of annual gross income, a program that would be known as Caps Out-of-Pocket Expenses (COPE). Body By Council Members Nelson, Harrison, Freed, Marshall, Moskowitz and Warden; also Council Members Eisland, Koslowitz, Pinkett, White and Abel Whereas, The prohibitive cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens is a well-documented issue that looms over the political landscape in New York and throughout the country; and Whereas, Drug prices are projected to rise another 15 percent this year, adding to the ever-increasing burden that is surpassing 10 percent of senior incomes; and Whereas, Federal Medicare HMO's have been "dumping" seniors and Congress has failed to act on this growing crisis; and Whereas, As a result of a recent initiative to expand the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Program (EPIC) to cover couples with incomes up to $50,000, virtually half of the senior citizens in the State will be eligible for EPIC; and Whereas, The need for this expanded coverage was, in part, related to the estimated 130,000 New Yorkers who were dumped by Medicare HMO's during the last two years; and Whereas, EPIC requires that participants pay a variety of premiums, fees, copays and deductibles, which currently range from four to seven percent of their income; and Whereas, S1165A, a bill currently before the State Legislature which would create a program that will be known as Caps Out-of Pocket Expenses (COPE) would ensure that no one would pay more than five percent of their income for prescription drugs, and would thus save seniors as much as $170 million annually; and Whereas, COPE would pick up the $170 million cost of the program; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon Legislature of the State of New York to adopt S1165A, an bill which would amend the executive law, in relation to limiting the cost-sharing responsibilities of eligible participants in the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Program (EPIC) to five percent of annual gross income under a program that would be known as Caps Out-of-Pocket Expenses (COPE). |10
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