Rhode Island blocked from co-pay plan

A judge in the US state of Rhode Island has issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the state government from charging co-payments from Medicaid beneficiaries under a budgetary proposal that was due to begin on September 28.

The Rhode Island legislature, in a budgetary amendment, authorized the move in July, affecting 14,000 residents, which would require co-pays of $1 per generic prescription drug and $3 for branded products. Ronald Lebel, Director of the state's Department of Health and Human Services, told local reporters that "we were trying to impose cost-sharing as a way of not having to make deeper cuts in the program."

The payments could have saved the state $60,000 a month, but would mostly have affected adults with disabilities and some special needs children. Attorneys from Rhode Island Legal Services initiated legal proceedings by claiming that the legislature could not require co-payments without passing specific legislation. A full hearing is scheduled for October 3.