Governing Magazine Examines Pfizer’s Disease Management Program in Florida

The St. Petersburg Times on Aug. 4 printed an excerpt from the July issue of Governing, a monthly magazine that reports on state and local governments, examining whether drug maker Pfizer can successfully implement a "new style of health care called disease management," which could save money for Florida's Medicaid program. Under the initiative, Pfizer helps beneficiaries with asthma, diabetes and hypertension "manage their diseases better" by sending nurses on home visits, calling patients to confirm follow-up care, monitoring patients' medication-taking habits and encouraging patients to seek regular treatment from a primary care physician. In exchange for this service, which Pfizer guarantees will save Florida $33 million over the next two years by preventing hospitalizations, the state has added the pharmaceutical company's products to its preferred drug list without requiring the company to offer the state rebates. But while the program, which had enrolled 8,000 people by the end of May, could "change the face of Medicaid more than anything since managed care," so far it has "not lived up to its billing" because beneficiaries who would benefit from the program are often difficult to locate, and they must "buy into the idea of changing bad health habits" to benefit, the Times reports. In addition, doctors disagree on the program's effectiveness, and a legislative audit revealed that the program has actually cost Florida about $24 million thus far in startup expenses (Swope, St. Petersburg Times, 8/4).