Legislators in Harrisburg are looking to give military veterans who live in long-term care centers better access to prescription medicine, according to two bills introduced by Lancaster County Republicans.

State Rep. John Bear of Lititz and state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong of Refton have authored identical bills that would allow the long-term care centers to repackage bulk prescriptions from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs into smaller doses.

The arrangement would save military veterans money, the legislators say.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to these veterans who stood in defense of the American ideal," Bear said. "It is only fitting that we make every possible effort to provide them with the best possible care in the most affordable manner."

Veterans pay $8 a month for medications from the VA, but that benefit is lost once a veteran enters a long-term care center.

Under state regulations, long-term care centers must receive their prescriptions from a pharmacy that they've contracted with, and prices skyrocket because those drugs are delivered in individual doses instead of bulk shipments.

Armstrong and Bear's bills would allow the nursing homes or the pharmacy the homes have contracted with to receive bulk medications from the VA and repackage them into individual doses.

The bills would cap what the nursing home can charge a veteran at $20 for all medication every 90 days.

"It's done elsewhere," Bear said. "I believe Florida does it."

Armstrong introduced his bill in April after hearing from veterans concerned about health care costs, but the bill has bounced around several committees and has not been voted on by the full Senate.

Bear's bill is now before the House's Health and Human Services Committee.

Both bills have a long way to go in the legislative process before they become law.

E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com