SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 30
(By Senators Yost and Unger)
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the
possibility of the state providing veterans whose income is at
or below the national poverty level a supplemental insurance
card for the purpose of paying the copayments for medical
prescriptions through any insurance plan, including the
Veterans Administration.
Whereas, In the case of the Veterans Administration
prescription program, the money paid by a veteran as a copayment
for a prescription is actually a double taxation, in that in most
cases the income to pay for the prescription copayment comes from
the tax dollars paid as either a retirement benefit or a disability
benefit and the copayment that is collected is paid back to a
governmental agency. Thus, the government is giving from the left
pocket and collecting into the right pocket; and
Whereas, The same thing is true of the many veterans working
for the State of West Virginia. State employees upon retirement or
disability also have a copayment for prescriptions, either through
the retiree health plan or through the Medicare prescription plans;
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the possibility of the state providing veterans
whose income is at or below the national poverty level a
supplemental insurance card for the purpose of paying the
copayments for medical prescriptions through any insurance plan,
including the Veterans Administration; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2010, on
its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts
of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations;
and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this
study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be
paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.