Demonstrating Our Commitment to Missouri Seniors

By Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell 

At the beginning of this year, I made a New Year's resolution to pass
legislation that would put teeth in our current laws that protect our
seniors residing in nursing homes from abuse and neglect.  I am proud to
tell you that last week, by a near unanimous vote, the Missouri General
Assembly passed the Senior Care and Protection Act of 2003 (Senate Bills 556
and 311), sending the bill to the Governor's desk.  
 
This would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of so many
active senior organizations within this state. Senior groups from across
Missouri descended on their State Capitol on several different occasions
this session, speaking out in favor of this legislation and talking to their
legislators about the importance of protecting nursing home residents. Those
who could not make the trip to Jefferson City wrote letters and made phone
calls to legislators urging them to pass the legislation. The senior
organizations that gave their time and resources to getting this bill passed
include: Missouri Aging Federation; AARP; Silver-Haired Legislature;
Missouri Alliance of Area Agencies on Aging; Older Adult Community Action
Program; OWL; and the Alzheimer's Assocation.

The members of the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate
listened to these groups, and deserve credit for putting seniors before
politics in reaching a bipartisan compromise on this important legislation.
Senator Peter Kinder (R-Cape Girardeau) should be thanked for his role in
crafting this measure and leadership for sponsoring this bill along with
Democratic Senator Patrick Doughtery (D-St. Louis).   Speaker Catherine
Hanaway should be thanked for her diligent efforts in steering this measure
through the House of Representatives and commitment to passing a strong bill
that preserved the important protections contained in the Senate Bill.    
While we have been successful in passing the Senior Care and Protection Act
of 2003, our work on behalf of Missouri seniors is not complete.  We must
continue our efforts on behalf of seniors by passing legislation that
modifies the rebate rate for generic drug manufacturers participating in the
Missouri SenioRx Prescription Drug Program. 

Due to a glitch in the law, generic drug manufacturers are currently paying
more to participate in the Missouri SenioRx Program than in programs such as
the Medicaid Pharmacy Program.  Drug manufacturers and state policy-makers
have come up with agreed upon legislation that, if passed, will alleviate
this problem.   

While this legislation is non-controversial and has strong bipartisan
support, it has yet to pass both chambers of the General Assembly.  With
less than two weeks remaining in the legislative session, it is crucial that
this important legislation be approved before the session ends.  Without
this fix, many of the top generic manufacturers will leave the Missouri
SenioRx Program on May 31, forcing seniors participating in the program to
switch from generic to name-brand drugs.  

Legislators have little time to demonstrate their continued commitment to
Missouri seniors by passing the rebate reduction for the SenioRx Program.
Legislators should be urged to support legislation that contains the SenioRx
fix.  Specifically, House Bill 286, House Bill 600, and Senate Bill 695,
which are the farthest along in the legislative process.  You can find the
contact information for your state representatives at www.house.state.mo.us,
or your senator at www.senate.state.mo.us. Tell them to pass legislation
that will make sure the SenioRx Program is able to continue to provide our
seniors with their preferred and trusted medications.