BIDDEFORD — Nancy O’Connell, a 75-year-old Biddeford resident, survives solely on Social Security income. In order to make ends meet, she lives in subsidized housing, and because of her income level she qualifies for the Drugs for the Elderly program. Without it, just one of her medications would cost her $600 a month, something she couldn’t afford on her own.

Proposals by Gov. Paul LePage to cut portions of the Department of Health and Human Services supplemental budget to make up for a two-year shortfall of more than $220 million has O’Connell and people in her position scared. The Drugs for the Elderly program is one of the programs that could be cut or reduced.

In fact, many of these proposed cuts will disproportionately affect low-income seniors and people with disabilities, according to officials at area organizations supporting these groups. The Drugs for the Elderly Program would be eliminated and Maine’s Medicare Savings Program would be drastically cut.

“Maine’s low-income seniors are already struggling to pay for food, heat, housing and health care,” said Jessica Maurer, executive director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging. “If these cuts go into effect, some seniors will stop taking their medication as prescribed and will have serious health consequences ”“ costing us all more in the end. These programs provide a critical health safety net for Maine’s most vulnerable seniors and disabled people. These cuts are penny-wise and pound foolish.”

According to information provided by the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, 72,000 Maine seniors and disabled people will lose some or all of the assistance they receive to pay for insurance premiums or prescription drug costs.

Of these, approximately 40,000 elderly will lose all or some of the help they currently receive through the Medicare Savings Program to help pay for premiums, co-payments and deductibles, prescription drug costs and coverage, through the so-called “doughnut hole.”

More than half of these people live in southern Maine ”“ and approximately 9,079 in York County.

All 40,000 would lose the $100 they receive to pay for Medicare part B, which is for medical insurance, and $31 that pays for Medical part D covering prescription drug insurance premiums, as well annual deductibles and reduced drug co-pays.

Potential loses are from $3,755 for those with gross annual incomes up to $20,000, which is 185 percent of the federal poverty level, and $5,500 for those with an annual gross income of as little as $10,800 ”“ or 100 percent of the federal poverty level. In addition, the lower-income individuals would lose assistance they receive for drug co-pays, and help with outpatient and inpatient charges not covered by Medicare.

The proposed reductions would have an indirect effect on hospitals, said Southern Maine Medical Center spokeswoman Sue Hadiaris.

“We know that when people lose insurance or the ability to pay they hesitate to see a physician until it reaches the acute phase and come to the emergency room,” she said.

Also, she said, those who don’t have the ability to pay for their medications may end up spending several days in a special care unit at the hospital, which is more expensive than if they had been managing their illness through medication.

According to Hadiaris, York County’s three hospitals, SMMC, Goodall Hospital in Sanford and York Hospital in York estimate the indirect impact of the proposed cuts ”“ to seniors, disabled people and others ”“ would be $5.2 million annually in additional costs to the hospitals ”“ with nearly half incurred by SMMC.

Linda Sprague-Lambert who works with Biddeford’s elderly, helping them to sign up for Medicare and find other assistance for which they qualify, said she’s concerned for the seniors.

Those who would be most affected are single, senior women, according to estimates. One such woman, whom Sprague-Lambert assists, has an annual income of $10,000. Her one splurge was a monthly lunch date with friends, but recently she had to give that up. If the woman were to lose her Medicare Part B premium, that would cost her $1,200 out of pocket, said Sprague-Lambert. Most likely, said Sprague-Lambert, the woman would not be able to afford to pay the premium.

If proposed cuts go through “it would be just devastating to our seniors,” said Sprague-Lambert. “It’s not as if they can go out and get a job.”

It’s unclear what the impact will be to Biddeford’s general assistance program, said the city’s Director of Health and Human Services Vicky Edgerly. However, she said, if people see a reduction in or lose their benefits, more people will likely seek help at her office. This will be an added burden on Biddeford taxpayers who foot about half the general assistance bill, with the state picking up the rest of the tab.

Just because benefits are cut doesn’t mean the problems will go away, said Edgerly.

Rep. Kathleen Chase, R-Wells, is a member of the Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, which has been meeting all week to make decisions about LD 1746, the DHHS supplemental budget. She said the committee is trying to make decisions that will have the least impact on the state’s most vulnerable population, but noted difficult decisions will have to be made and some people will be impacted.

Chase said the committee hopes to vote on the bill by the end of the month.

Two members of the York County Delegation are on the Appropriations Committee. These include: Sen. Dawn Hill, D-York, who can be contacted at: PO Box 701, Cape Neddick, ME 03902, 337-3689, or sendawn.hill@legislature.maine.gov; and Rep. Kathleen Chase, R-Wells, who can be contacted at: 142 Branch Road, Wells, ME 04090, home phone 646-2118, fax 646-6343, cell phone 468-9747 or kathydhchase@hotmail.com.

 — Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.