Res. No. 59 Title Resolution supporting Senate bill 3378-B regarding persons eligible for pharmaceutical cost assistance. Body By Council Members Baez, Martinez, Reyna, Rivera and Stewart; also Council Members Seabrook and Clarke Whereas, Many low-income disabled persons are unable to afford the costs of prescription drugs which are essential to their health; and Whereas, Disabled persons through no fault of their own experience similar limitations on their ability to independently earn a living as do elderly citizens; and Whereas, The Medicare program for the elderly does not cover the cost of prescription drugs; and Whereas, The Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program (EPIC), has proven extremely helpful to many senior citizens who face high costs for prescription drugs, but do not qualify for Medicaid; and Whereas, Many programs originally designed to benefit senior citizens, ranging from Social Security to real property tax reductions, have been extended to cover disabled persons; and Whereas, While advances in pharmaceuticals have helped disabled persons play a more active role in their communities, disabled persons still face significant hardships as a result of severe income limitations, declining availability of employer-paid health insurance, and caps on prescription coverage which are increasingly being implemented by health insurers; and Whereas, Senate bill 3378-B would create, using the EPIC program as the model, the Disabled Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program (DPIC) which would provide much needed pharmaceutical assistance to low-income disabled persons; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York supports Senate bill 3378-B regarding persons eligible for pharmaceutical cost assistance. |10
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