New Florida Medicaid Mail-Order Program for Diabetics Creating Confusion Among Beneficiaries

Only 40% of Florida Medicaid beneficiaries with diabetes have enrolled in a new mail-order system for obtaining drugs and insulin, leaving advocates concerned that some patients might not receive their medications, "at least initially," the St. Petersburg Times reports. Starting Nov. 5, the state Agency for Health Care Administration required Medicaid beneficiaries to get their diabetes drugs, insulin and blood sugar testing equipment though Health Alliance, a Ft. Lauderdale-based mail-order service. The program is designed to save the state $1.5 million per year and allow individuals with diabetes to obtain drugs reliably through the mail. But as of Nov. 5, only 2,800 of the 7,000 beneficiaries with diabetes had been switched over to the new system, "causing confusion at some pharmacies." John Kelly, the owner of a pharmacy with 30 to 50 affected beneficiaries, said, "Somebody calls in and says, 'I need my medication.' I call them back and say, 'I can't fill it. Did you get enrolled in [the mail order program]? And they say, 'Enrolled in what?' I tell them they should have gotten a letter." George Kitchens, AHCA's chief of Medicaid pharmacy services, said that the agency indeed sent letters to affected individuals, pharmacies and physicians after the state Legislature approved the new policy last year. He "acknowledged," however, that "problems are likely" in the short term. Medicaid beneficiaries who have not enrolled with Health Alliance can obtain an "emergency supply" of medication from their pharmacists, who are supposed to give them the toll-free number to call to enroll. "I think it's going to be a challenge. It's going to take a lot of effort from everybody -- pharmacy providers trying to help ... physicians being involved, and Health Alliance in how they contact and follow up with these patients," Kitchens said (Allison, St. Petersburg Times, 11/6).