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PACENET income limit proposal would expand eligibility by roughly 100,000, department estimates
Summary
Department staff told the committee that raising the PACENET income limit (House Bill 654) could increase the eligibility pool by over 100,000 people and add roughly 30,000 new beneficiaries over three years, with initial added costs estimated at about $14 million in the first fiscal year.
Committee members asked how proposed statutory changes to PACENET would affect enrollment and cost. Representative Young cited House Bill 654, a bill to increase the PACENET maximum income limit. Tom Stettin, director of the PACE program, testified that the eligibility pool would grow by over 100,000 people and that approximately 30,000 people would gain benefits across the next three fiscal years under the proposal.
Stettin provided a fiscal projection for increased drug coverage costs tied to expanded eligibility: an estimated additional $14,000,000 in the first fiscal year, about $26,000,000 in the second fiscal year, and further increases in subsequent years as new enrollees stabilize. The committee clarified that the director meant millions ("with an m").
Legislators welcomed the enrollment estimates and asked how the expanded coverage would affect seniors’ ability to afford medications and remain independent. Stettin said expanded eligibility would allow more seniors to fill prescriptions they currently skip, supporting health and independent living.
The department agreed to provide any additional actuarial detail the committee requests; no statutory action was taken during the hearing.
