The changes were "absolutely devastating to many seniors, especially those with serious or chronic illnesses," said Cathy Roberts, who works on health care access issues at the Empire Justice Center in Albany.
For instance, Muriel Kenitz, of Galway, stopped taking one of her prescriptions, a hormone medication to help sharpen her memory, relieve severe headaches, prevent osteoporosis and lower cholesterol.
The news of the EPIC restoration is a "major relief," said Kenitz, who turns 74 this month. "But all that money I lost [paying for other medications] I won't recoup."
Kristin Legere, AARP New York communications director, said people reported being shocked when they went to a drugstore to pick up a prescription and found the price had skyrocketed, sometimes by hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Most EPIC enrollees paid about $875 in additional out-of-pocket costs for their medications in 2012, an AARP New York analysis found.
May, a retired rabbi in Rockaway, Queens, said he had heard about the cuts but didn't realize the full significance. After his shock at the pharmacy counter in January, May got angry. Then he got busy.
He participated in an AARP New York tele-town hall meeting in which the EPIC cuts were discussed. He also called his legislators to express dismay over the cuts, spoke at community organization meetings and talked to friends.
Next page: The cuts triggered a rigorous lobbying effort. ?
Source: http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-12-2012/funding-for-epic-returns-briefly-ny.html
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