IL HR1089

Urges Governor Pat Quinn to reverse his plan to eliminate the Illinois Cares Rx program and continue operating it.

Illinois Cares Rx provides prescription drug coverage for older adults and people with disabilities on Medicare whose incomes are too high for Medicaid or Extra Help but too low to afford premiums, deductibles, co-payments, and Medicare coverage gaps.

Program is described as cost-effective state spending that prevents acute illnesses and reduces hospitalizations and nursing home admissions.

The Affordable Care Act will not close the prescription coverage gap until 2020, leaving a gap period where the program is needed.

Elimination of Illinois Cares Rx would cut off more low-income state residents with special health needs than any other proposed reduction.