The following summarizes recent news coverage of developments in states related to the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries appear below.

• Ohio: The state will extend at least through the end of February a program to reimburse pharmacies for overcharges related to the new Medicare drug benefit, state officials said on Tuesday, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Because of computer problems, some dual eligibles in the state mistakenly have been charged too much for prescriptions. Pharmacies last week were told how to request reimbursements for overcharges, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services so far has received 20 requests for reimbursements from four pharmacies. The one-month extension "give[s] CMS time to make improvements and get all the kinks smoothed out," DJFS spokesperson Dennis Evans said. The state has set aside $1.5 million to cover the reimbursements (Powell, Akron Beacon Journal, 2/1).
  
  
• Pennsylvania: Gov. Ed Rendell (D) on Friday announced a proposal to combine the Medicare drug benefit with the state's PACE and PACENET prescription drug assistance programs, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Under Rendell's proposal, the state would pay Medicare drug premiums for low-income PACE beneficiaries. PACENET beneficiaries, who have higher incomes, would pay a $30 monthly premium instead of the current $40 deductible for monthly drug costs. Rendell said the combined program, PACE Plus Medicare, could add 120,000 Pennsylvania seniors to the 310,000 people already enrolled in the state programs. Eligibility requirements would not be altered to enroll more beneficiaries, but the program could attract "people who meet current income guidelines but use few prescription drugs and thus never bothered to enroll," the Post-Gazette reports. PACE Plus Medicare also would cover costs related to the Medicare benefit, including the "doughnut hole" coverage gap and some drugs not covered by Medicare. Rendell said that because the cost of PACE and PACENET would be shared with the federal government, the state would save $180 million annually. State officials currently are urging PACE and PACENET beneficiaries not to enroll in the Medicare drug benefit unless they qualify for subsidies because the state does not have authority to pay their Medicare premiums. Rendell plans to include the proposal, which requires legislative approval, in his budget (Fahy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/28).
  
  
• Rhode Island: Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) has extended for one month an executive order authorizing the state to cover prescription drug costs for dual eligibles, the Providence Journal reports. Carcieri estimated that as of Sunday, the state had processed about 10,500 claims from pharmacies that distributed drugs to 4,452 dual eligibles, at a cost to the state of $454,829. Carcieri on Monday rejected a request from advocates for the elderly to declare a state of emergency over problems with the Medicare drug benefit (Gudrais, Providence Journal, 1/31).
  
  
• Washington: Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) on Monday joined Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in calling for a moratorium on the shift of dual eligibles to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the AP/Seattle Times reports. Gregoire said her office has received numerous phone calls from pharmacists and some of the 95,000 dual eligibles in the state who have experienced difficulties under the new Medicare benefit. Gregoire said that a $3 copayment per prescription places some dual eligibles in "dire straits," adding that the Medicare benefit "just isn't fair to the states, and it clearly isn't fair to these individuals" (Ammons, AP/Seattle Times, 1/31).

Editorial
It "appears that the federal government is owning up to the confusion generated over the Medicare prescription drug plan" and "acknowledg[ing] that the plan had too many kinks to work out in time for launch," a Honolulu Advertiser editorial states. The Advertiser adds that "federal officials have said reimbursement would continue through Feb. 15," but they "should pledge to cover costs until each state can deliver prescription drugs to Medicaid beneficiaries" (Honolulu Advertiser, 1/31).