Washington State Pharmacists Object to Medicaid Payment Cut Scheduled for Aug. 1

Several pharmacists in Washington state say that as a result of cuts in their Medicaid payments set to take effect Aug. 1, they will not fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries, the AP/Seattle Times reports. Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a 3% cut in the payment rates for name-brand drugs and a 44% cut in rates for generic drugs. The cuts came as a result of a report from the HHS inspector general that said states were overpaying for medications for Medicaid beneficiaries and aimed to offset a "ballooning state Medicaid drug budget." The state delayed implementing the cuts to allow the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to find other ways to cut $22 million from the Medicaid budget. Pharmacy representatives recommended alternate ways to save money on drugs, but the state already had implemented many of the suggestions, the AP/Times reports. Now that the state is moving forward with the pharmacy payment cuts, Rod Shafer, CEO of the Washington State Pharmacy Association, said that up to 20% of the state's pharmacies may refuse to serve Medicaid beneficiaries because the cuts will drop payment rates on some drugs to below wholesale cost. But Washington state Medicaid Director Doug Porter said that the state had paid pharmacists more than most private insurance companies did, adding that the cuts bring the state's payments in line with what some private companies are paying. Porter added, "The pharmacists have been long on rhetoric, but I'm not seeing anyone's invoices that prove to me they're going to lose their shirts on this." Should some pharmacies decide to not serve Medicaid beneficiaries, the state will advise beneficiaries to use mail-order pharmacies or give them transportation to other pharmacies, Porter said (AP/Seattle Times, 7/11).