Seniors who max out their prescription drug coverage from Medicare or private insurance plans would once again be able to fall back on the state's RIPAE program discount pharmaceuticals under a bill that passed the Senate Thursday. 

Similar legislation was on the books last year as a pilot program, but expired Dec. 31. The bill that passed the Senate on a 34-0 vote Thursday would make that change permanent. The measure now goes to the House of Representatives, which is considering an identical bill. 

The bills were introduced in the Senate by Sen. Elizabeth Roberts, chairwoman of the Health, Education and Welfare Committee, and in the House by Rep. Steven Costantino, chairman of the House Finance Committee on behalf of Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. 

Fogarty said the legislation is a win-win proposition. 

"This is one of those issues where it is good public policy and it also will save the state money," Fogarty told The Times Thursday. 

Originally, Roberts explained, Medicare and private insurance would cover prescription medications up to a certain dollar amount and RIPAE (Rhode Island Prescription Assistance for the Elderly) would pick up when that coverage was exhausted. But over time, she said, insurance plans such as Blue Cross' Blue CHip and Medicare changed their rules on how certain drugs would and wouldn't be covered. 

For instance, those two plans now offer unlimited coverage of generic drugs but restrict payments for brand-name pharmaceuticals. Under existing RIPAE rules, as long as subscribers have coverage remaining for generic drugs, they can't tap RIPAE for brand name medicine, even if the insurers will no longer pay for it. 

That means seniors who otherwise would be eligible for RIPAE would be bereft if: 

. They need a brand-name drug and do not have coverage for brand-names. 
. They have reached their plan's designated maximum for brand name drugs.
. They have coverage for brand-name drugs but the specific drug they need is not covered.

One unintended consequence of that, Fogarty said, is that approximately 5,400 seniors dropped their private coverage entirely and made RIPAE their sole provider, which proved more costly for the state. Also, some seniors were without coverage for the specific drug they need. The Senate's action, Fogarty said, would restore RIPAE to its position as "insurer of last resort" for the state's elderly. 

Under the bill that passed the Senate Thursday, all of those individuals would be covered. There is no provision for the coverage to revert back to Dec. 31, but Fogarty said that in most cases, seniors have not yet reached their maximum coverage amount at this point in the year, so if the bill becomes law promptly, it will cover their prescription costs before private insurance or Medicare runs out. 

Roberts said the language of the bill is generic enough that it will not give private insurers an incentive to not cover various medications just so RIPAE will pick up the slack. 

"With passage of this legislation," Fogarty said, "we are one step closer to closing a coverage gap that has left some seniors without coverage for drugs they need and resulted in higher costs for the state." 

He said he hopes the legislation will pass in both chambers and go to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri for his signature "in the next couple of weeks."