Rachel Talbot Ross Seeks to Extend Taxpayer-Funded Prescription Drug Discounts to Noncitizens in Maine

Maine State Senator and former House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland) has introduced a bill that would extend taxpayer-funded prescription drug discount program coverage to certain noncitizens residents of Maine.

Sen. Talbot Ross’ bill, LD 842, would provide coverage under the Maine Rx Plus Program to noncitizens living in Maine who might otherwise qualify for the federal Medicaid program if not for their “immigration status.”

Maine Rx Plus is a state-run program that provides discounts on prescription drugs to Maine residents.

In order to qualify for the program, a resident can have an income of up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level, and may also be eligible if more than five percent of their family income is spent on drugs, or 15 percent spent on medical expenses.

Enrollees in the program can receive a discount of about 15 percent on prescription medications, and an estimated 60 percent discount on generic drugs.

Under Talbot Ross’ LD 842, noncitizen residents age 21 or older who have a diagnosis of cancer, organ failure or type 1 diabetes, and who otherwise would qualify for the federal supplemental security income program but for their immigration status, would be eligible for taxpayer-funded medication discounts under the Maine Rx Plus program.

The bill would also direct the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to convene a “stakeholder group” within the Office of MaineCare that would review the program’s emergency rulemaking to extend that coverage for a variety of other conditions, such as bone fractures, dialysis, and hypertensive and diabetic emergencies.

Talbot Ross previously introduced a bill in the 131st Legislative Session that would have extended taxpayer-funded MaineCare benefits to illegal aliens and other non-citizens with qualifying low incomes — a change the bill’s fiscal note projected would have cost taxpayers an additional $13.6 million in fiscal year 2024-25.

That bill eventually was shot down in the Maine Senate.

LD 842 has been referred to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and will be scheduled for a public hearing. It does not yet have a projected fiscal note.