HB 284-PIONEERS HOME RX DRUG BENEFIT                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:56:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KELLER announced  that the final order  of business would                                                              
be SPONSOR  SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE  BILL NO. 284, "An  Act requiring                                                              
the Department  of Health  and Social  Services to accept  federal                                                              
prescription drug  benefits or to provide comparable  benefits for                                                              
residents  of  the  Alaska  Pioneers'  Home,  including  residents                                                              
eligible  for discount  or free  benefits from  the United  States                                                              
Department  of Veterans Affairs  or the  Indian Health  Service of                                                              
the United States Department of Health and Human Services."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LES  GARA,  Alaska State  Legislature,  said  that                                                              
there  was  a  "glitch"  at  the   Veterans  Administration  which                                                              
prevented Pioneer  Homes from offering  free or discount  drugs to                                                              
veterans,  which  should  have  been  distributed  free  from  the                                                              
Veterans  Administration.   He explained  that  Pioneer Homes  now                                                              
offered the option  to veterans for drugs at the  same rate as the                                                              
Veterans Administration  or the Indian  Health Service.   He added                                                              
that, although  the Pioneer Homes  were now offering  this option,                                                              
HB 284  would institutionalize  the  policy so  that it would  not                                                              
change again in the future.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
[HB 284 was held over.]