Texas pharmacists warn Medicaid cuts imperil their businesses

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20111128-texas-pharmacists-warn-medicaid-cuts-imperil-their-businesses.ece

AUSTIN — Pharmacists who serve poor Texans warned lawmakers Monday that they will be forced to close their doors if scheduled Medicaid fee cuts aren’t rescinded.
On March 1, health maintenance organizations will start managing the prescription drugs of more than 3.3 million Texans on Medicaid.

The managed-care companies are cutting reimbursements, citing the Legislature’s requirement that rapidly increasing drug costs in Medicaid be curbed.
Some independent pharmacists and drug-store chains with outlets in low-income neighborhoods say that the HMOs in recent weeks have offered contracts that contain very low drug payments and big cuts to dispensing fees.

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Dorinda Martin, president of the Texas Pharmacy Association, told reporters that the fee cuts threaten half of the state’s nearly 1,600 independent pharmacies.

Martin, who with her husband owns two Austin-area pharmacies, said Waco economist Ray Perryman has estimated that as many as 42,000 jobs could be eliminated.

[WinkyDink]

1. Of course, Big Pharma couldn't care less, as they rake in their billions.