CONTACT: Robert Kellerman
April 15, 2019 Bob.Kellerman@gwaar.org
(608) 243-5672
(MADISON, WI) The Wisconsin Aging Advocacy Network (WAAN) extends
their deep appreciation to state and federal officials who sent notification
late last Friday that the wait for approval of Wisconsin’s SeniorCare
prescription drug program was over AND Wisconsin’s request for a 10-year
waiver extension had been approved. After several short-term extensions
since the beginning of the year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) announced it had granted the Wisconsin Department of Health
Services (DHS) an extension of the SeniorCare federal waiver allowing the
program to continue to operate through December 2028.
SeniorCare is a prescription drug assistance program for people aged 65 and
over in Wisconsin. The program began in 2002 as a federally-approved waiver
program under Wisconsin’s Medicaid program for low-income persons. There
are currently nearly 94,000 older Wisconsinites enrolled in the program.
The SeniorCare program has several appealing features including:
- A simple application and enrollment process,
- An open formulary and broad network of providers, and
- Affordable cost-sharing for participants.
“This cost-effective program has had strong bipartisan support from the
beginning,” says Robert Kellerman, Executive Director at the Greater
Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources and Chair of WAAN. “It is a great relief
to both current and future SeniorCare enrollees to know the program has
been approved for another 10 years.”
SeniorCare keeps Wisconsin seniors healthy and helps to control the overall
costs of the state’s older adult Medicaid population by preventing seniors
from becoming fully eligible for Medicaid benefits due to deteriorating health
and spending down to Medicaid eligibility levels.
