It seems Medicaid in Washington State may be in jeopardy. The problem is that Walgreen says it's not getting enough payments from Medicaid. If this goes into effect many senior citizens may not be able to use their Medicaid health insurance coverage to pay for drugs bought from Welgreen.
The nation’s largest pharmacy, Walgreen Co. has threatened to go rogue in Washington State. Due to new laws regulating Medicaid reimbursements, the company is losing a share of its potential profit.
The problem stems from a recent Massachusetts court ruling that cut standard industry pricing for Medicaid. Many pharmacies, however, weren’t reimbursed for the cost of that change. Acquisition costs stayed the same, causing loss of revenue for pharmacies like Walgreen’s. So far Walgreen has lost money on 95% of its brand-name medications.
In most states, insurance companies solved the Medicaid-pharmacy conundrum. Private insurance companies adjusted pharmacy reimbursement rates to reflect the new ruling. However, Washington State’s Medicaid program has not followed suit.
As a result, Walgreen may pull 64 of its 121 Washington State pharmacies from the Medicaid program. Washington state officials have declined to comment so far, and a lawsuit filed in November by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores have yet to bring about any kind of resolution.
The loss of Medicaid sponsored drugs could hurt many elderly relying on Walgreen for their medication. People relying on Medicaid drugs would than be forced to go without or seek alternative means for securing their medication. This could mean serious health risks or even more financial woes for Medicaid recipients. With costs already up, and a recession in force, the cost of this decision may be more than both the state of Washington and Walgreen bargained for.
Written by Lani Shadduck
HULIQ.com
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