AARP New Jersey would like to thank Gov. Chris Christie for his leadership in working with the state Legislature to withdraw the original budget proposal concerning Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD), the state’s prescription drug program for low-income and disabled residents.
The proposed $310 first-ever deductible and the more than doubled co-pays on brand-name prescriptions would have adversely affected over 140,000 individuals. Now, instead, PAAD beneficiaries are actually paying a dollar less ($5) for their generic prescriptions while the brand-name co-pay has been maintained at $7.
AARP members were vocal on this issue as most PAAD beneficiaries are older adults, prescription drugs can be lifesavers, and all PAAD recipients have very low incomes.
We know that on average, older adults take multiple prescriptions and approximately 40 percent of PAAD beneficiaries have to take brand-name drugs because either a generic is not available or their doctor says they must. More than doubling the co-pays for these individuals would have been devastating.
We thank the governor for finding the funds not only to maintain but also to improve the nation’s strongest state pharmaceutical assistance program for low-income elderly and disabled.
Jim Dieterle Senior State Director
AARP New Jersey
Plainsboro