For the costs of the subsidized catastrophic prescription drug insurance program under
section 39 of chapter 19A of the General Laws and for the operation of the prescription advantage program; provided, that funds shall be expended for the operation of the pharmacy outreach program under
section 4C of said chapter 19A; provided further, that the executive office of aging and independence shall allow those who meet the program eligibility criteria to enroll in the program at any time during the year; provided further, that the executive office shall take steps for the coordination of benefits with the Medicare prescription drug benefit created under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Public Law 108--173, as amended, to ensure that residents of the commonwealth take advantage of this benefit; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary or unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, prescription drug coverage or benefits payable by the executive office and the entities with which it has contracted for administration of the subsidized catastrophic prescription drug insurance program under said
section 39 of said chapter 19A shall be the payer of last resort for this program for eligible persons with regard to any other third--party prescription drug coverage or benefits available to eligible persons; provided further, that amounts received by the executive office's vendor as premium revenue for this program may be retained and expended by the vendor for the program; provided further, that the executive office shall seek to obtain maximum federal funding for discounts on prescription drugs available to the executive office and to prescription advantage enrollees; provided further, that not less than 90 days before any action to limit or cap the number of enrollees in the program, the executive office shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided further, that not less than 30 days before any coverage or benefits expansions, the executive office shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided further, that funds shall be expended from this item to implement the pre--admission counseling and assessment program established in the fourth paragraph of
section 9 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, which shall be implemented on a statewide basis through the Aging and Disability Resource Consortia; and provided further, that not less than $2,000,000 shall be expended for the Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone, or SHINE, program, administered by the executive office in partnership with local community--based organizations including, but not limited to, councils on aging, aging service access points and others, in order to support the operational costs incurred by these programs
