SeniorCare cuts skimping on drugs

WALTHAM, Mass., June 21 (UPI) -- A study finds elderly in Wisconsin and Illinois were less likely to skimp on prescription drugs when state assistance programs became available.

Researchers at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., surveyed 2,227 participants in SeniorCare programs in Illinois and Wisconsin. They found half the group either cut spending on necessities like food and energy or skimped on prescription drugs before the programs took effect in 2002.

Joann Schroeder, a retired receptionist in Wisconsin, told the researchers that she used another option -- running up $4,000 in credit card debt to pay for her prescriptions.

"If SeniorCare hadn't come along, I would have had to use yet another credit card - and where would that have gotten me?" she said.

Donald Shepard, a Brandeis professor involved in the study, said that the Medicare prescription drug benefit, which kicks in next year, is less generous than most state programs. He believes those with incomes ranging from $14,000 to $20,000 are likely to be hit hard if SeniorCare programs, which expire in 2007, are totally done away with.