Nov. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – Today, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved
House Bill 777 sponsored by Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover). The legislation would extend protections to seniors enrolled in PACE and PACENET who would lose eligibility for these programs due to increases in income from Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA). The PACE and PACENET programs provide low-cost prescription drug coverage for seniors.
Grove previously sponsored this legislation in the 2013-14 legislative session where it became Act 12 of 2014 and protected 11,416 seniors through Dec. 31, 2015. House Bill 777 would continue these protections until Dec. 31, 2017.
While the Social Security Administration has recently announced that there will be no COLA in 2016, this does not impact PACE/PACENET eligibility until 2017. Last year, the Social Security Administration approved a 1.7 percent COLA, which if House Bill 777 does not become law, would make nearly 12,000 senior citizens, including 297 in York County ineligible for PACE/PACENET coverage. House Bill 777 now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The York County House Republican Delegation, including state Reps. Seth Grove (R-Dover), Kate Klunk (R-Hanover), Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York Township), Mike Regan (R-Dillsburg), Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion), and Keith Gillespie (R-Hellam), issued the following statement in response to passage of the legislation:
“We’re pleased to join our colleagues in the House in support of this important legislation to ensure Pennsylvania’s seniors continue to have access to affordable prescription drugs. With the financial challenges senior citizens face, it is important that we take steps to protect them. A Social Security COLA should not force seniors to pay more for their prescriptions. We ask the Senate and Gov. Tom Wolf to support this legislation and quickly sign it into law.”
York County House Republican Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Eric Reath
717.260.6187
ereath@pahousegop.com