Maryland Officials Propose Medicaid Preferred Drug List To Lower Costs

Maryland health officials on Nov. 12 announced a proposal to create a preferred drug list for Medicaid beneficiaries that would deter them using from high-priced, brand-name drugs, the Washington Post reports. Under the proposal, the state would identify a list of drugs from which doctors could prescribe to Medicaid beneficiaries; if doctors receive permission from the state, they may prescribe medications not on the list. The drug list would affect approximately 120,000 Medicaid beneficiaries who are not enrolled in a managed care plan that already has a preferred drug list or other limits on prescription drugs. Maryland spends $3.3 billion annually on Medicaid -- 15% of the state's general fund -- and that amount is rising because of prescription drug costs. The preferred drug list is estimated to save the state $20 million a year. The proposal has been criticized by pharmaceutical companies and patient advocates, the Post reports. Marilyn Edmunds, executive director of the Maryland Health Advocacy Alliance, said, "The state has a huge budget deficit, but solving that problem on the backs of the poorest and sickest patients is wrong." Twenty other states have similar preferred drug lists (Washington Post, 11/13).