Content about Medicaid pharmacy

November 7, 2012
Walgreens research: 90 day at retail generates cost savings and does not increase wastage

A new Walgreens study examining the impact of 90-day medication refills at community pharmacies compared to 30-day refills for Medicaid patients found that across four therapeutic categories, patients with 90-day refills had greater medication adherence and greater persistency, nominal wastage and more cost savings.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — A new Walgreens study examining the impact of 90-day medication refills at community pharmacies compared to 30-day refills for Medicaid patients found that across four therapeutic categories, patients with 90-day refills had greater medication adherence and greater persistency, nominal wastage and more cost savings. The study, titled "Medication Days’ Supply, Adherence, Wastage and Cost Among Chronic Patients in Medicaid," was published in Medicare & Medicaid Research Review and released Wednesday.

August 17, 2012
AMP progress validates pharmacy’s resolve

They say hindsight is 20/20. With the Supreme Court’s ruling on healthcare reform, the luxury of looking back shows that the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and allies took the right course to battle the pharmacy Medicaid cuts of the Deficit Reduction Act. What we learned should inspire pharmacy to remain tenacious in its continued advocacy on this issue and in confronting all other challenges.

They say hindsight is 20/20. With the Supreme Court’s ruling on healthcare reform, the luxury of looking back shows that the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and allies took the right course to battle the pharmacy Medicaid cuts of the Deficit Reduction Act. What we learned should inspire pharmacy to remain tenacious in its continued advocacy on this issue and in confronting all other challenges.

July 27, 2012
Florida Pharmacy Association sues state health department over HMO contracts

The Florida Pharmacy Association, together with a group of Medicaid patients, independent pharmacies and pharmacists from all over Florida, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Leon County Circuit Court against the Agency for Health Care Administration to seek to restore patient access to qualified Medicaid pharmacy providers.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Pharmacy Association, together with a group of Medicaid patients, independent pharmacies and pharmacists from all over Florida, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Leon County Circuit Court against the Agency for Health Care Administration to seek to restore patient access to qualified Medicaid pharmacy providers.

June 18, 2012
Texas indies decry shift to Medicaid managed care

If you're an independent pharmacist trying to make ends meet in the state of Texas, good luck.

If you're an independent pharmacist trying to make ends meet in the state of Texas, good luck. A shift in the way the Lone Star State pays for Medicaid — as enacted by Texas legislature — is hammering many pharmacies, according to a June 14 report from the Texas Tribune, as reported in the New York Times.

April 4, 2012
NACDS submits comments to CMS regarding Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement provisions of healthcare-reform law

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has submitted official comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding its proposed rule on Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement using the average manufacturer price model.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has submitted official comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding its proposed rule on Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement using the average manufacturer price model. The AMP model was reformed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

January 30, 2012
NACDS, NCPA urge guidance for states on Medicaid reimbursements

Two groups representing the retail pharmacy industry are urging the federal government to provide guidance to the states on how to adjust Medicaid dispensing fees to determine pharmacy reimbursement.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Two groups representing the retail pharmacy industry are urging the federal government to provide guidance to the states on how to adjust Medicaid dispensing fees to determine pharmacy reimbursement.

November 8, 2011
NCPA: Latest FUL list from CMS a 'disaster in the making'

In response to a new second set of limits on generic drug pharmacy reimbursement that recently were proposed by federal Medicaid officials, the National Community Pharmacists Association on Tuesday reiterated its concerns with what the group characterized as the "flawed methodology" being used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine the payment caps.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In response to a new second set of limits on generic drug pharmacy reimbursement that recently were proposed by federal Medicaid officials, the National Community Pharmacists Association on Tuesday reiterated its concerns with what the group characterized as the "flawed methodology" being used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine the payment caps.

NCPA requested a meeting with CMS officials on the matter.
 

October 19, 2011
NCPA addresses CMS around AMP impact on community pharmacy

The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday offered federal Medicaid officials a number of suggestions to address methodology that, if left in place, would result in what the NCPA couched as "potentially devastating cuts" in Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for a wide range of common, generic prescription drugs.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday offered federal Medicaid officials a number of suggestions to address methodology that, if left in place, would result in what the NCPA couched as "potentially devastating cuts" in Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for a wide range of common, generic prescription drugs.

August 22, 2011
NCPA fighting to maintain Medicaid reimbursement as states approach fiscal year-end

The National Community Pharmacists Association last week delivered a letter to the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules opposing an Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services proposal to sharply decrease Medicaid reimbursements and “slow-walk” reimbursement payments.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association last week delivered a letter to the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules opposing an Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services proposal to sharply decrease Medicaid reimbursements and “slow-walk” reimbursement payments.

The action could force more than 700 independent community pharmacies to shutter their doors, the NCPA stated.

July 22, 2011
Pharmacists urge officials to reject Oregon pharmacy reimbursement reductions

The National Community Pharmacists Association on Friday announced “grave concerns” regarding a purported Oregon Medicaid plan amendment that would, according to the association, renege on a pact the state previously reached with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and cut Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for the second time this year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Friday announced “grave concerns” regarding a purported Oregon Medicaid plan amendment that would, according to the association, renege on a pact the state previously reached with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and cut Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for the second time this year.

December 15, 2010
N.Y. Medicaid program could save big through new approach

New York’s state Medicaid program could save $2.2 billion over 10 years by managing Medicaid pharmacy benefits more like private-sector employer plans, state employee plans and Medicare, according to a new study by healthcare policy research firm The Lewin Group.

WASHINGTON — New York’s state Medicaid program could save $2.2 billion over 10 years by managing Medicaid pharmacy benefits more like private-sector employer plans, state employee plans and Medicare, according to a new study by healthcare policy research firm The Lewin Group.

October 5, 2010
NCPA to CMS: Medicaid reimbursements should adhere to healthcare-reform law provisions

The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow guidance that Congress included in the healthcare-reform law in its implementation of a new Medicaid generic drug reimbursement formula based on average manufacturer price, the organization said Tuesday.

CMS recently withdrew provisions that would have dramatically cut Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement to community pharmacies from a previously proposed AMP rule due to an injunction that the NCPA obtained in 2007.

 

October 4, 2010
NACDS issues statement on CMS' withdrawal of AMP provisions

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores commended the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores commended the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday after the agency proposed a rule that would withdraw two provisions related to pharmacy Medicaid reimbursement.

September 2, 2010
NACDS, NCPA in joint statement praise CMS' move to withdraw provisions of AMP rule currently blocked by injunction

National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and CEO Steve Anderson and National Community Pharmacists...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and CEO Steve Anderson and National Community Pharmacists Association acting EVP and CEO Douglas Hoey issued a statement praising the proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would withdraw existing provisions of the Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement formula under the average manufacturer price model.

December 22, 2009
Senators urge for Medicaid generic drug reimbursement provision in health-reform bill

The mid-December plea by 16 members of Congress to assure a fair payment for pharmacies...

NEW YORK The mid-December plea by 16 members of Congress to assure a fair payment for pharmacies that dispense generic drugs to Medicaid patients was welcome news. But with the movement to pass a health-reform bill reaching a crescendo in the Senate, the flawed Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement system still is a hot potato that too few lawmakers seem willing or able to touch.

 

More aptly, it’s a political football that keeps getting tossed around the House and Senate health-reform debate.

 

 

June 4, 2009
Walgreens draws another line in sand, opting out of Delaware Medicaid fills

For pharmacy operators like Walgreens, the battle to tamp down state Medicaid budget cuts around...

NEW YORK For pharmacy operators like Walgreens, the battle to tamp down state Medicaid budget cuts around the United States must seem like an increasingly urgent, high-stakes game of “Whack-a-Mole.” Delaware is just the latest state to rear its head.