AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday he will include a request in supplemental budget legislation next year to cover a reduction in federal aid that supports prescription drug benefits for thousands of needy citizens.

The sum to be sought could be at least $9.2 million, administration officials said.

At the same time, Baldacci said the state would press for a waiver from the Medicare Part D law so that Maine could continue MaineCare drug coverage for 52,000 people eligible for both MaineCare, which is the state-federal Medicaid program, and Medicare.

“Maine has proven we can provide better drug coverage at lower cost for our most vulnerable citizens – those elderly and disabled who qualify for both Medicare and our MaineCare program.

“Yet the Federal government outlaws us from continuing to provide that coverage after Jan. 1, 2006, and requires us to pay at least $9.2 million dollars more than it costs us today to care for these citizens who depend upon prescriptions for their lives,” Baldacci said in a statement.

The new federal prescription drug benefit, Medicare Part D, may offer valuable coverage for older and disabled people who have not had prescription drug benefits to date, Baldacci said.

But, he added, “it makes no good sense to further complicate an already complex program by disrupting the lives of elders and persons with disabilities, requiring them to switch health plans and lose some coverage they have today – all at a cost to the state that exceeds by at least $9.2 million what we spend today.

The federal government has enough on its hands implementing this program for those who do not now have coverage without disrupting those who do.”

The federal government’s new Medicare prescription drug benefit, which is designed to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of medications, starts in January. The standard benefit calls for premiums of about $32 a month and a deductible of $250.

Baldacci said federal approval for a waiver was unlikely, but that the state would pursue its case.

“We will fight for fairness but proceed recognizing that the federal government will automatically reduce Maine’s MaineCare federal funding starting in February to capture the new funds the state is required to pay,” the governor said.

With no single Medicare drug plan, private insurers will offer various coverage options. The cost to the federal government for the program’s first 10 years has been estimated at $720 billion.

Enrollment begins Nov. 15.

The director of the state health policy office, Trish Riley, said beneficiaries moving from the state to federal drug program would face mandatory co-payments and receive coverage for fewer drugs.