My e-mail inbox this week included a couple of things that might be of interest to other senior citizens. Most of the incoming mail is slated for the delete icon, but these items I found very interesting. I hope you do, too.
Did you know that some of the funding for Maine’s reduced cost drug program for Maine Senior Citizens comes from gambling money? Well, it does. A press release reporting the income from Hollywood Slots at Bangor shows that some folks must have a lot of extra money to spend on having a good time.
From now on, I’ll silently thank those gamblers when I go to the drug store and only have to pay $2 for a prescription. And I hope that the naysayers who complain about the program, which helps Maine’s elderly, will discover that not all the funding comes from their property taxes.
In its first year of operation, Hollywood Slots at Bangor has generated $16 million in dedicated tax revenues, including $2.6 million for prescription drugs for Maine senior citizens.
According to Jude E. Walsh of the Governor’s Office of Health and Policy and Finance, the monies are used to provide pharmacy benefits to elderly and disabled people with incomes up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level.
“The DEL Program currently serves 38,503 individuals. We cover drugs in 14 specific disease areas as well as provide a comprehensive ‘wrap’ for DEL members also eligible for Medicare Part D, in the form of premium assistance, covering one half of the deductible, assisting with both brand and generic brand co-pays and covering 80 percent of the cost of medication during the ‘donut hole’ (shortfall),” Walsh said. “The (slots tax) revenues are mixed with Fund for a Healthy Maine money as well as State General Fund appropriation.”
According to the State Budget Office, 10 percent of the net revenues from Hollywood Slots are dedicated to the Fund for a Healthy Maine. Those dollars are allocated to the state’s Drugs for the Elderly Program, which provides needed prescription drug assistance to Maine seniors.
The prescription drug benefit for seniors is one part of multiple beneficiaries of the dedicated tax revenues from Hollywood Slots at Bangor. Others include the harness racing industry, scholarships for University of Maine and Maine Community College system students, the host city of Bangor, and the state’s General Fund.
The second item of interest is a wonderful opportunity to get information about almost any aspect of senior life from nutrition to transportation and everything in between. Mark this date on your calendars.
Southern Maine Agency on Aging is hosting its annual elders day again this year, but has renamed it to Active Aging Expo and the location will be changed, as well. The free event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 23 from 9:30 to 3 p.m. at the Portland Sports Complex at the Dome, Warren Avenue in Portland.
In addition to more than 100 exhibitors, this year’s event will include entertainment, interactive exhibits, health seminars and workshops. Hannaford supermarkets will be sponsoring a healthy, low-priced lunch for attendees and there will be a number of door prizes. The “Garden Expert,” Eileen Scally of Badgewick Design, will answer questions on plants, gardens and landscaping.
Actress Susan Poulin will be the emcee for the day.
She will be presenting the first public performance of “The Full Angel” the evening before, May 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and includes discussion following performance. Suggested donation for the evening is $3 per person. This will be held at the Sports Complex and SMAA is hoping to draw families/and family caregivers who aren’t able to attend the event the following day because they’ll be at work. The performance will be transcribed by CART, a service for the hard of hearing in which Poulin’s words will appear on a screen on stage.
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