Kentucky Lawmakers Look to Control Brand-Name Drug Expenditures

Continuing to address the state's projected $82 million Medicaid budget shortfall, the Kentucky House passed a bill last week that would re-institute pre-authorization restrictions on brand-name prescription drugs for Medicaid beneficiaries, the AP/Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports. Removing previous restrictions "reduced red tape for pharmacists and doctors," but also resulted in more use of costly brand-name prescriptions rather than generic ones, the Messenger-Inquirer reports. During the last fiscal year, the state's Medicaid drug costs rose 24.4%, from $348 million to $433 million. As a result, the state now spends more on drug coverage for Medicaid beneficiaries than it does on hospital care. Gov. Paul Patton (D), who announced last week that he was "shifting oversight" of Medicaid to his office and that the program would receive no additional funding next year, said the proposed prescription drug bill would save the state $20 million a year. The measure, however, has met opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Marie Cull, a representative from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the organization originally sought to lift the restrictions on brand-name prescriptions "because there were no clear guidelines about which drugs Medicaid would pre-authorize under its old rules." She added that current law allows officials, "in certain cases, to require authorization for prescribing new drugs" (AP/Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 3/5).