Pharmacists warn Medi-Cal cutback might be ruinous. (Health Care).IT may not seem enough to break the bank, but independent pharmacists claim that $110 million in proposed budget cuts to the state Medi-Cal program could put them out of business. The pharmacists, who are concentrated in rural areas and the inner city, receive payments for filling prescriptions of low-income Medi-Cal recipients, as do bigger pharmacies participating in the Medi-Cal program. But unlike chains such as Sav-on and Rite Aid Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) is a United States retailer and pharmacy chain, operating over 5,000 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains. , the independents rely on prescriptions for a larger portion of their revenues -- and have a greater percentage of Medi-Cal clients. As it is, they squeak by Verb 1. squeak by - manage one's existence barely; "I guess I can squeeze by on this lousy salary" rub along, scrape along, scrape by, scratch along, squeeze by on an average 2.5 percent profit margin, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the California Pharmacists Association. "Every prescription is important to my survival," said Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15 1922 – November 25 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who became the first African American Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983 until his death. Jr., manager of family-owned Bevins Pharmacy in South Central Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The cuts -- one more way the governor is seeking to close the $24 billion state budget gap -- would hit pharmacists twice: through a 5 percent reduction in drag reimbursements and a 50 cent reduction of a $3.95 dispensing fee they receive for each prescription. The fee is intended to cover pharmacists' insurance, margin and other expenses. State law also requires pharmacists who participate in the Medi-Cal program to charge seniors enrolled in Medicare a discounted reimbursement rate for prescription drugs prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, . That's 10 to 15 percent off regular prices, said Carlo Michelotti, chief executive of the pharmacist association. "It's a break for seniors out of the cash register of pharmacists," Michelotti said. The state Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Independents are left with a choice of absorbing the losses, or dropping out of the Medi-Cal program and losing customers. Staff reporter Laurence Darmiento can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 237 or at ldarmiento@labusinessjournal.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion