Pharmacies in Lake County and elsewhere are waiting to see if they will get any relief from a court ruling handed down last week that was supposed to stop Medi-Cal, California”s version of Medicare, from cutting 10 percent from the amount the state program reimburses pharmacies and health care providers for their costs to provide services to Medi-Cal patients.
Pharmacies statewide have been getting back only 90 percent of the actual cost for most medicines for Medi-Cal patients since July 1, when the state enacted Assembly Bill 5 to allow the cost-cutting measure to help close an approximately $16 billion budget deficit. Christina A. Snyder, a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles, granted an injunction Tuesday to stop the cuts. Pharmacists in Lake County and throughout the state report the cuts continue.
“We haven”t seen it,” Lucerne Pharmacy and Gift Shop owner Jerry Shepherd said. “There are a lot of people who need this to be provided for them that are not getting what they need anymore. A lot of people who are not doing well, poorer people, are having to do things they would not have to do normally to get what they need from pharmacies.”
Lynn Carman, an attorney with the Medicaid Defense Fund, applied to the U.S. District Court, District of California, Western Division, to hold Medi-Cal director Sandra Shewry in contempt of court for not complying with the order.
“The Department of Health Care Services is in the process of preparing to implement the court order. However, we are also preparing an appeal and stay of the judge”s ruling, which will be filed shortly,” California Department of Health Care Services spokesman Anthony Cava said Monday.
Cava said the state plans to ask for a clarification of the judge”s order. He said in light of an injunction granted to stop the 10-percent cut in July that was overturned just days later, the state will work out the details when a “final decision” is rendered.
Carman said thousands of community pharmacies are being driven out of business because the rates at which Medi-Cal now reimburses them doesn”t even cover the cost of the drugs.
“It hurts, but we”re waiting to see what happens. You can”t spend $1 on a drug and have Medi-Cal give you back 80 cents ? not only are you not paying for the drug, but you”re not paying for the lights, the heat or the people who work here,” Lake Pharmacy Pharmacist Mike Maravich said.
Maravich said Lake Pharmacy in Clearlake, which dispenses between 800 and 1,400 prescriptions per day, plans to stay open and continue to serve Medi-Cal patients at the same level of service as before the cut went into effect.
“The impact of this could be devastating. If it continues long-term it could force (independent) pharmacies out of business, or patient services could be cut,” Maravich said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com or call her direct at 263-5636, ext. 37.
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