Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #735FY0102
Indigent Pharmaceutical Program
Requester:		Mickey Presha			Organization:		Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.
Project Title:		Indigent Pharmaceutical Program			Date Submitted:		1/18/2002 2:57:30 PM
Sponsors:		Michael Bennett
Statewide Interest:
This project will directly impact the lives of thousands of citizens throughout the Tampa Bay region and ultimately impact the health status of the State. Effective health care must go beyond physician office visits and diagnosis. Many of the patients of MCRHS have no means to acquire the proper medicines required to restore their health. This program especially benefits teh state becasue many of the patients we serve are highly mobile (i.e. migrant workers) and could carry health problems to others becaues of conditions that ware contagious. Proper medical treatment will isolate and eliminate many of these problems and ultimately benefit other areas of the state.
Recipient:		Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.			Contact:		Mickey Presha
		12214 US Hwy 301 North			Contact Phone:		(941) 776-1232 225
		Parrish 34219
Counties:		DeSoto, Manatee
Gov't Entity:			Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit):					Yes
Project Description:
MCRHS is a non-profit health care provider that specializes in providing primary health care and preventive health care eduation to the underserved, undermanaged and indigent populations of Manatee, Sarasota adn DeSoto County. In 2000 MCRHS treated over 35,000 patients and conducted over 120,000 patient visits. Many of the patients ave no means of paying for their health care. They are "self-pay" patients who are not eligible for Medicaid, medicare or any other public assistance program. Additionally, these patients do no have private insurance through their employer. This project is intended to create a program modeled after the Prescription Drug Purchase Assistance Program. MCRHS would establish a $500,000 pool of money to be used for off-setting prescription drug prices to patients without an Rx plan to assist in medication pruchases. MCRHS operates 3 full service pharmacies in houser. MCRHS had a sophisticated software program that identifies each patient's profile when they come for pharmacy services. We require all pharmacy customers to sign in and become a part of our database. Office staff and financial counselors verify at each office visit the patient's current financial and insurance status. Patients who are confirmed to have no funding to have no funding source would be supplemented from this financial pool for the price of medications. The goal is to use the pool for approximately 75%-80% of the prescription cost and have the patient co-pay to be around 20%-255 of the total price of the medication. MCRHS has managed a program similar to this in the past with teh PDPA program. MCRHS has all the components in place to operate this program successfully and efficiently. The only remaining component is the financial pool required to see the program.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
MCRHS feels that as many as 1/4 to 1/3 of its patients will increase access to proper medciations. Proper treatment and medication should have a measurable impact on the reported health statistics by the Manatee County Health Dept.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:						$500,000
Identify items(s) in the FY 2002-03 Appropriations Bill to be reduced:
Specific Appropriation #:
Specific Appropriation Title:
Amount to be reduced:			$
Total cost of the project:			$750,000
Request has been made to fund:				Operations
What type of match exists for this project?					None
Was this project previously funded by the State?							No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?							Unknown
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?							Unknown
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?							Unknown
Is there a documented need for this project?							Unknown
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?							Yes
	Hearing Body:		Manatee County Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:		12/12/2001