THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

           

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) December 11, 2003: County Executive Andy Spano today announced an innovative program designed to give Westchester residents of all ages who lack adequate health insurance significant discounts on prescription drugs. Individuals will pay $15 a year for the program, Families, $26.

White Plains Pharmacies honoring the program, beginning today are: Duane Reade, both Stop N Shop Pharmacies, Post Pharmacy, Target Pharmacy, White Plains Pharmacy, FamilyMeds Pharmacy, Rosedale Pharmacy, K-Mart Pharmacy, and Value Pharmacy.

  The county program, dubbed “WestchesterRx,” will cost county taxpayers nothing, but can save consumers 10 to 50 percent on their medicines. The variations depend on the particular medicine and whether the consumers continue to purchase at a local pharmacy or use a mail order program. And the savings can be even greater if the customer uses an option that accesses pharmacies in Canada.

 

Westchester becomes the first county in the state and one of the first in the nation to use its clout to devise and implement a comprehensive, easy-to-use program to help residents pay for prescription drugs.

“Something is very wrong in this country where the people who can least afford to pay for medicines are paying the highest prices. This is not going to be true any longer in Westchester County,” said Spano. “Our program will provide real savings and provide these savings immediately. And unlike the recently enacted federal prescription drug plan, our program will help people and families regardless of their age.”

The county estimates that there are about 90,000 people in Westchester who are uninsured or underinsured. Ultimately, other value-added services such as vision care benefits and discount coupons will be incorporated.  

 

Participants receive a card that identifies them as members of the county’s new program. People will be able to enroll via the Internet or through an enrollment form. They will be able to buy their medicines at one of 114 participating local pharmacies, through a national network of participating pharmacies or by mail service. A toll-free phone number will be set up for enrollees to call to get names of participating pharmacies – in and out of Westchester – and get answers to other aspects of the program.

 “I believe this is the most important program that we have ever implemented in terms of how many people it will affect and its potential to save lives or at least give people access to drugs that can help them with their illnesses and improve their quality of life,” Spano said.

In creating the prescription drug plan, the County brought to the table industry leaders to administer the program.  Namely, POMCO, administrator of the county’s employee health plan; Arxcel, Inc., an independent prescription drug consulting firm; Inteq, a pharmacy benefit managers corporation responsible for claims processing and network management, which negotiated special group rates with the pharmacies; and finally, LibertyCareRx, a marketing organization that will provide the web site, customer service and handle sales for the discount card.  Together, with the county’s leadership, they have created  a model prescription drug benefit program.

The program also includes a Canadian pharmacy option that allows residents to access medicines produced in America but sold at significantly reduced rates in Canada.

“I am outraged that Americans have to pay up to three times as much as Canadians for the same drugs,” Spano said.

 The program will be operational Feb. 1, 2004  and is open to all Westchester residents. It will begin accepting enrollees in early January. More specific information including a website, brochures and a telephone line will be developed over the next few weeks. There will also be materials and a phone number set up for Spanish-speaking people.  

EXAMPLES OF PRICES

(Actual prices can vary from day to day, so these numbers are not precise) 

·        The average price in Westchester of Lipitor (10mg), taken for high cholesterol, is $81.90 for 30 pills, a month’s supply. Through the county’s program, the medicine at one of the participating pharmacies will be $67.26, a savings of 17.9 percent. If the member uses mail order, the

medication will cost $63.04 for a savings of 23 percent. If the Canadian option is used, the medicine is $54.91, for a total savings of 33 percent.

 

·        The average price in Westchester for Zoloft (50 mg), an anti-depressant, is $86.96 for 30 pills, a month’s supply.  Through the county’s program, the medicine at one of the participating pharmacies will be $73.83, a savings of 15.1 percent. If the member uses mail order, the medication will cost $69.38 for a savings of 20.2 percent. If the Canadian option is used, the medicine is $53.95, for a total savings of 38 percent.

 

·        The average price in Westchester for Celebrex (200 mg), for arthritis pain, is $98.12 for 30 pills, a month’s supply.  Through the county’s program, the medicine at one of the participating pharmacies will be $80.02, a savings of 18.4 percent. If the member uses mail order, the medication will cost $75.35 for a savings of 23.2 percent. If the Canadian option is used, the medicine is. $43.25, for a total savings of 55.9 percent

 

·        The average price in Westchester for Metformin (550 mg), for diabetes, is $23.16 for 30 pills, a month’s supply. Through the county’s program, the medicine at one of the participating pharmacies will be $21.25, a savings of 8.2 percent. If the member uses mail order, the medication will cost $13.11, for a savings of 43.4 percent. If the Canadian option is used, the medicine is. $5.19, for a total savings of 77.6 percent

 

 

HOW THE PROGRAM WILL WORK

 

·        LOCAL PHARMACY NETWORK: Currently, 114 pharmacies in Westchester are part of the extensive geographically diverse pharmacy network. People may bring their prescriptions to these pharmacies, along with their program ID card, to get discounts on their medicines. The local network is made up of chain stores as well as small pharmacies.  The network will have national coverage as well, so enrollees will be able to obtain their medicines outside the county. 

 

Prices can change depending on the wholesale price of a particular drug on a particular day. The pharmacies, via their contract with the WestchesterRx program, have agreed to a negotiated discount. In the instance where the pharmacy may be charging less for a particular drug on a particular day, the WestchesterRx member will get the lower price. In no case will a member pay more through the network than what the store might otherwise charge. 

 

·        MAIL ORDER OPTION: For larger discounts on maintenance medicines, members can use a mail service pharmacy.  The program will use drugstore.com. Prescriptions may be mailed, ordered via the Internet or faxed.  

 

·        CANADIAN OPTION: For even greater discounts, a participant may use the Canadian pharmacy option. WestchesterRx will be working with an intermediary that has relationships with various well-established and quality Canadian pharmacies.  

 

 

 

 

 

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. December 8, 2003: The Board of Education engaged in over an hour of spirited discussion Monday evening at White Plains High School with its Curriculum Coordinators who made a case for the Board postponing last year’s decision to upgrade the district passing standard for the English, Global History & Geography, and U.S. History and Government Regents Examinations to 65 for Class of 2004 seniors. A visibly troubled school board grappled with the issue. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors said the Board would be asked to vote on keeping the passing grade where it is (55)  for these three critical Regents on January 12.

CONCERNED CURRICULUM COORDINATOR “TAG TEAM” advised against raising Regents passing grades to 65 on three key Regents exams for the Class of 2004, Monday evening. The Board of Education looks on in concern at the united lineup of Larry Killian, Administrator of Research, Testing, Evaluation; Lisa Weber, Mathematics Coordinator; Joan Kass, Foreign Language Coordinator; Alan Walowitz (at podium), English Coordinator; Enrique Cafaro, Guidance Coordinator; Dr. Christine Robbins, Principal, White Plains High School; Lois Gordon, Coordinator, Social Studies; Margaret Doty, Curriculum Coordinator, Science. Photo by WPCNR News.

Connors said New York State Education Department had done a grave disservice to School Districts across the state for  failing to have the courage to declare they would keep the Regents tests across the state at the 55 “Passing Standard,” instead leaving it up to each individual school district to determine whether they would “keep it at 55.” Connors said that the School Districts of Harrison, Mahopac, Mamaroneck, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Ossining, Port Chester and Valhalla were approving or planning to approve sticking to the “55 standard”

In the course of the hour or so debate, (the single most contentious issue since the Dr. Saul Yanofsky departure from the district), Board members were told by a tag team of Curriculum Coordinators that the Regents tests are a nightmare of indecision and inconsistency on the state level, producing a lack of confidence in their results. Right down the line, they also said the Regents did not cover the curriculum fairly. Dr. Joseph Casbarro, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services, said New York State had reached the point were high stakes tests were counter-productive and turning children off to learning.

CAN YOU QUANTIFY? Board Member Terence McGuire raised the issure repeatedly of how many poorly achieving students were at risk of not graduating. He asked Coordinators if they could quantify how many seniors could be at risk of graduating if the passing level on the three verbal skills Regentses were raised to 65. The Coordinators said they could not make an estimate on that but said they would attempt to get a figure, but cited last year’s figures of all Regents results where 63% of Seniors passed all 5 Regentses (when passing grade was 55), with 88% of white students passing, 48% of Hispanics students passing their Regences and 38% of African-Americans passing, according to  Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Coordinators said clearly that the controversial Regents Math A, Physics and Chemistry tests of 2003 were not only confusing to grade, but at variance with curriculum taught, focusing on obscure “corners” of the syllabus. They pointed out that test scores did not indicate the percentage of questions answered correctly, so much so that as many as 50% of the poorer and non-English speaking White Plains students were clearly at risk of not receiving a Regents diploma as members of the Class of 2004.  This the group agreed could occur if White Plains raised the Regents testing grades to 65 on English, Global History & Geography, and U.S. History and Government tests.

However,  curriculum coordinators did cite the English, Global History and U.S. History exams as the best conceived Regents tests, better administered and fairly created coverage.

MOST TROUBLING ISSUE: A grim Terence McGuire (left) looks on in agreement as  School Board Member Bill Pollak said the 55 or 65 decision and the disturbing state of New York Regents testing, “the hit or miss curriculum”as described by the Curriculum Coordinators,  said, “I have a real problem making these (Regents) tests more high stakes than they are already.” Photo by WPCNR News.

As the evening wore on, Board members became more and more troubled and concerned. Coordinators put the pressure on the Board to postpone for a least a year or more the upgrade to 65, on the English, Global and U.S. History Regentses because they are currently preparing at-risk seniors for the Regents Competency Tests in addition to regular study for the January Regents, in anticipation of the new 65 standard on the English, Global and U.S. History “hurdles.” Narcita Medina, Assistant Principal for Special Programs and Services

A DISSAPPOINTED AND CONCERNED Maria Valentin, (center), noted  to the Coordinators, that raising the grade to 65, would primarily affect poor and Hispanic students. She was skeptical of the coordinator claims of success on student Regents results in English, saying that the Coordinators’ claims of greater success among Regents testing on English and Social Studies were simply because now all students, ESOL, and Special Needs students, (who previously took Regents Competency Tests instead), are required now to take the Regents, naturally inflating the numbers of students taking and passing the Regents. Photo by WPCNR News

BOARD OF EDUCATION PRESIDENT Donna McLaughlin, center, concluded the impassioned discussion saying she still supported the results that high stakes testing had achieved, pointing out how standards and achievement had been raised, the ESOL learning problem addressed. She defined the issue facing the district saying the content of the Regents tests needed to be addressed to be more consistent, productive and fair to students. Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Connors, left, said it was important parents realize that the District was not lowering standards in any way if the Board voted in January not to go to 65 as a passing grade, just postponing it, noting that in 2002-03 the passing grade for all Regents Exams was 55. Board Member Peter Bassano said he was very angry at the state for putting the district in this position, “as angry as I can get.”
 Photo by WPCNR News.

Superintendent of Schools Connors and President of the Board of Education, Donna McLaughlin, urged parents to contact the school board members, the district, and the high schools to find out more about the issue.

The New York State Education Department, because of the poor and controversial Mathematics A, Physics and Chemistry tests in 2003, have backed off from their requirement that students entering Grade 9 in 2000 (the Class of 2004) would have to have passing grades of 65 or better on English, U.S. History and Government, and Global History and Geography. They plan to revisit this issue in 2005.

The complete debate on the subject will be televised on WPPS-TV, White Plains Public Schools Channel 77, on Thursday, December 18, at 7:30 P.M. Contact White Plains Public Schools-TV at 422-2073 for further information on when this important debate will be televised. Persons wishing a copy of this tape should contact Nancy Strauss at 422-2073 to make arrangements.