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to serve you 2 locations in Georgetown GEMINI | (Performanc Counts In Real Estate, We Are "The Sign of Performance" Call: 877-5165 Rx revamp big headache | BY FRANCES NIBLOCK The Georgetown Gemini Some Georgetown seniors are temporarily going with- out their medication, many senior citizens have been mis- classified, and all pharma- cists are doing a lot of ex- plaining. That's the fallout after six weeks under the new Ontario Drug Benefit Pro- gram. Under the new program, single senior citizens with an income under $16,018 and married seniors with an in- come of $24,175 or less, now pay a $2 payment for every prescription they have filled. A single senior with an income of more that $16,018 now pays the first $100 in prescription costs and after that a maximum $6.11 dis- pensing fee onevery prescrip- tion they have filled in the year. Married seniors with a combined income of more than $24,175 each must now pay the first $100 in prescrip- tion costs and after that, an Ontario Drug Benefit dis- pensing fee of a maximum $6.11. Prior to this anyone over 65 years of age had their prescriptions paid for fully by the government. All of the Georgetown pharmacists surveyed re- ported problems with people being wrongly classified as having to pay the $100, and then trying to get that money back. The pharmacists at Young's, Shoppers Drug Mart and Wal-Mart also re- port that they are spending a lot of time explaining to sen- iors how the new program works and then, in some cases, dealing with their an- ger and frustration. The government has at |' least 5 per cent of seniors in the wrong income category, but judging by the number of reclassification forms being handed out by Georgetown pharmacists, that number is too low. Neil Young, pharmacist and owner of Young's Phar- macy on Main Street and the Medical Centre Pharmacy, said some seniors are "upset, unhappy and confused" with the new drug benefit pro- gram. "Most people have come to realize that they are having to accept some responsibility for their own health, but un- fortunately, whether you agree with it or not, nobody wants to pay," Young ex- plained on Monday, noting there isamis-conception that the pharmacist is getting more money from the patient. "People arealso concerned about getting their money back if they were mis-classi- fied and wrongly paid the $100. We've had three dif- ferent messages from the Ministry (of Health) saying first that seniors would not get their money back, then that they would get up $25, and then that everyone would get the whole amount, less their deductible," Young said. "Our biggest problem is that it's taking us an awful lot longer to explain the new system to people. It's very confusing for patients and it's very confusing for pharma- cists." Young also said they had K noticed a substantial reduc- - tion in prescription volume for seniors but were unsure if See DRUG, Page 12 10 and Kathryn Huebert, 7. (Jamie Harrison photo) TERRY CAMERON 853-4790 ¢ Asphalt, ¢ Flat Roofs- ¢ Vinyl Siding Cedar, Torch On ¢Seamless Metal & Built Up Eavestroughing 'Above Ali, You Need A Roof' ARTS ALIVE! Betty Worobec ushers her crew in to look at the handmade jewelry at Bunny Safari's Mystical Makings at Art In The Afternoon downtown last Friday and Saturday. From left: Worobec, Sarah Huebert, 4, Emily Fisher,