September 18th, 2008

Reports the Intelligencer Journal:

“A bill that would give veterans in long-term care better access to prescription drugs unanimously passed the state House on Tuesday, and its prime sponsor has high hopes for final passage in the state Senate.”

…

[Rep. John Bear's] bill would give veterans in long-term care access to low-cost medication from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Most veterans pay $8 a month for medications from the VA, but that benefit is lost once they enter a long-term care facility because state regulations require medications dispensed in unit doses to be purchased in that form from pharmaceutical companies.

…

Bear’s bill would allow the nursing homes or the pharmacies they do business with to receive bulk medications from the VA and repackage them into individual doses for patients who are veterans.”

Sen. Gib Armstrong has introduced a similar bill in the Senate, and Rep. Bear hopes that the two can work together to get the issue through the General Assembly before the end of the fall session.  But with many other healthcare issues on the Legislature’s table during that short time, it’s unclear the likeliness of the bill’s quick passage.