Long-term care pharmacists are paying close attention to the recently released Medicaid pharmacy rule, which limits federal reimbursements to state Medicaid agencies.
“We’re very concerned about it,” Darrell McKigney, executive director of the Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance, told McKnight’s on Thursday. “We’re studying the extent of the impact.”
The rule, which was released earlier this month, is expected to save the federal government $8.4 billion over five years. It refigures the Medicaid drug-pricing formula as a way to control inflated drug product payments. Pharmacy associations this week criticized the new formula and other aspects of the rule.
McKigney said his organization is waiting to see how the new calculation method would affect long-term care pharmacies. It’s also unclear what portion of the estimated $8.4 billion in savings will come from the long-term care pharmacy segment, McKigney said.
