HARRISBURG – Thousands of PA seniors would be protected from losing access to life-sustaining prescription medications under a bill approved by the state Senate. Senate Bill 731 would extend the practice of excluding Social Security cost-of-living adjustments or COLAs when calculating income eligibility for the PACE and PACENET programs. The exclusion is set to expire at the end of 2025. The bill would extend it through Dec. 31, 2027. Bill supporters say without the measure, more than 10,000 seniors could lose eligibility simply because of a modest Social Security increase. The PACE and PACENET programs have helped hundreds of thousands of older adults by providing low-cost prescriptions to those age 65 and older. The legislation now goes to the PA House.
