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The Tony Gill Show, WAIC.com
Date October 17, 2002
Time 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Station WAIC.com
TONY GILL (host): And we are joining Steve Northrup to talk about long-term care. Our issue is pharmacy. We're talking essentially about ... the reimbursement rate for prescription drugs.
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State Reduces Cut to Prescription Reimbursement Rate
Associated Press
By Jennifer Peter
Thursday, October 3, 2002
BOSTON — There is some good news for state Medicaid patients. Health officials have scaled back a proposed cut in reimbursements for drug stores that fill Medicaid prescriptions. Read More >>
Boston Business Journal, WBIX-AM Radio
September 30, 2002
Time 07:00 AM - 08:00 AM
Station WBIX-AM Radio
Boston, MA
"...they're a group of companies called long-term care pharmacies and what they do is they dispense prescriptions for nursing home residents exclusively. And it costs more for them to do so, so they're saying that they should be exempt from any pending reimbursement cuts because they're not the same as CVSs and Walgreens, who can actually make up cuts to reimbursements through retail sales..."
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Medicaid Cuts Could Send Some Pharmacies Packing
Boston Business Journal
By Allison Connolly
Friday, September 27, 2002
In what is already one of the toughest times for pharmacists, George Cayer is worried the Legislature could do to his business what the market has only threatened to do: drive his business out of state. Read More...
Nursing-Home Drug Firms Submit Data
The Boston Globe
By Chris Reidy
Friday, September 20, 2002
A group that represents suppliers of prescription drugs has told the state it could lose $4.51 per prescription, on average, under a plan to lower Medicaid rates. The Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance compiled a list of drugs most commonly used in nursing homes. If the lower rate goes into effect for drugs on the list, pharmacies would be paid an average of $6.86 per prescription above the cost of the drug. But when overhead expenses such as salaries are included, it costs an average of $11.37 to dispense a drug to a nursing-home resident, the group said. The state is reconsidering the plan and could issue a new rate next month.
Slashing of Drug Reimbursement Put On Hold
The MetroWest Daily News
By Michael Kunzelman
Friday, September 6, 2002
BOSTON - Hoping to prevent more than 900,000 people from losing access to prescription drugs, state lawmakers yesterday called for delaying plans to slash the state's Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement rate.
During a hearing in Boston, several lawmakers urged the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy to freeze the reimbursement rate until the federal government releases a key report on prescription drug costs. Read More...
Rate Cut Pinches In-House Druggists
The Boston Herald
By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Thursday, September 5, 2002
A Medicaid prescription rate cut would threaten special services to nearly 60,000 nursing and group home residents, executives say.
Leaders of firms that fill prescriptions for home residents will ask to be spared from a proposed sharp cut during a public hearing that starts today. Lawmakers mandated a reimbursement rate cut to 2 percent under wholesale costs charged by drug makers from the current cost plus 10 percent. Read More...
Druggists Will Push Medicaid Retooling
The Boston Herald
By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Chain pharmacy leaders will call on lawmakers today to save Medicaid dollars by restructuring the program's benefits rather than cutting reimbursements.
A planned rate cut was put on hold after the major chains said they would quit the program, threatening to leave nearly 1 million of the state's neediest citizens without access to most pharmacies.
Acting Gov. Jane Swift agreed to stall the cut while regulators gathered information.
The Legislature's Health Care Committee is holding an oversight hearing today to get information for a public hearing that the administration has scheduled for Sept. 5. Read More...
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