WASHINGTON, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — To help
reduce state Medicaid spending and save taxpayers $84 million,
Governor Rick Perry (R) has proposed that the program’s
prescription drug benefits be operated more like those in the
private sector that are more affordable and efficient.  While
the state’s Medicaid program pays more than triple the fees that
Medicare and private insurers pay, independent drugstores are
continuing to lobby to keep the current system, putting their
profits ahead of patients, the Pharmaceutical Care Management
Association (PCMA) said today.

“Texas taxpayers shouldn’t pay more for Medicaid drug benefits
than private insurers and Medicare,” said PCMA President and CEO
Mark Merritt. “Currently, the program uses fewer generic drugs and
pays drugstores more than triple the fees that Medicare or private
insurers pay.  By modernizing Medicaid drug benefits, Texas
will save $84 million without cutting benefits to those in
need.”

The savings projection for Texas aligns with those reported in
a
recent study, which found that the state’s Medicaid program
could save $1.2 billion over the next decade by managing pharmacy
benefits more like private employer plans.  Recent
polling finds voters would rather modernize Medicaid pharmacy
than cut benefits for patients or payments to doctors and
hospitals.  In addition to Governor Perry, Governors Chris
Christie (R-NJ) and Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) have already proposed such
changes to reduce prescription drug spending in their own
states.

Many state Medicaid programs pay too much for prescription drugs
because they use an archaic, fee-for-service approach in which
state officials set payment rates and are therefore constantly
lobbied to inflate them by special interests like pharmacists.
 To avoid this trap, most no

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