Senior Spotlight By John Toscano
Stavisky Says Budget May Have Healthcare Improvements For Seniors

Democratic members of the state senate report that they are confident that when the 2008-09 state budget is passed, it will include an important new benefit for seniors that will reduce their prescription drug costs.

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky reported in a release sent out on Monday that the senate had passed a bill which she hopes will get final passage as part of the new budget.

Stavisky (D- Flushing) wrote: "In another key move, the legislature acted to create a new EPIC Drug Discount Program, offering significant drug discounts to residents between the ages of 50 and 64 and to New Yorkers with disabilities.

The current EPIC program (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) helps pay the cost of prescriptions for New Yorkers 65 or older. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will be eligible for the new program.

More details are not now available, but if the new plan is included in the final budget, more information will be available in the future.

Stavisky said that the bill passed by the senate last week restores funding for nursing homes that had been proposed to be cut by former Governor Eliot Spitzer. The bill that passed the senate, which will also require passage by the Assembly, includes "an historic shift of resources toward primary care and preventive health, with $300 million in new investments that will boost hospital outpatient clinics, community health centers and local primary care doctors," Stavisky's release said.

"The Health and Mental Hygiene portion of the state budget is a big step in the right direction," Senate Minority Leader Malcolm A. Smith (D- Jamaica) said.

"This measure will help more New Yorkers receive better health care- with lower health costs."

Stavisky noted: "This is a very difficult year, as the state's economy suffers as a result of the subprime lending crisis and a steep decline in the financial sector. But even in difficult times like these, we've been able to protect our most vulnerable residents."

VA CREDIT CARD USE QUESTIONED: Credit card purchases made by Veterans Affairs (VA) employees, using cards issued by the federal government for work-related purposes only, are being checked by government auditors, the Associated Press reports.

M.V. CENTER FIX-UP: The city Department for the Aging (DFTA) has given a grant to the Middle Village Adult Center to do a fairly thorough renovation of its dance/exercise room and arts and crafts room.

According to the center's monthly bulletin for April, "Renovations will include leveling the floor in the dance room, new wall surfaces, floors and lighting in the dance and craft rooms, as well as hall renovations. The arts and crafts room will also be outfitted with new cabinetry for state-of-the-art computers and arts and crafts supplies."

The center at 69-10 75th St., also received a $2,500 contribution from a local factory owner- Jesse Wiener, proprietor of Juniper Elbow Corp. on Metropolitan Avenue near 73rd Street in Middle Village, to fund its Soup to Homebound program, which provides varieties of freshly cooked soup to neighborhood homebound persons twice a week from October to May. Wiener is a frequent contributor to the center.

The bulletin also announced a Health Info Expo to be sponsored by state Senator Serphin Maltese (R- C, Middle Village) on Thursday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Christ Tabernacle Church, 64-34 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale. Maltese will provide free bus transportation to and from the center, with buses departing for the event at 11 a.m. The event will feature free health and medical screenings and a wide range of information on health matters.