Medicaid Pharmacy Cuts Could Force More Than 11,000 Pharmacies to Close, Affecting 300,000 Jobs and $31.1 Billion in Output

A report, appear accordingly today by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), analyzes the abeyant appulse of the DRA on pharmacies (Impact of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 on Pharmacies by State), encompassing alternation biologic stores, absolute pharmacies and accumulation merchants and supermarkets with pharmacies. These cuts abuse to abate acceptance to medications and pharmacy services, and they aswell abuse the animation of communities Pharmacies are the face of adjacency healthcare, but these cuts could clean these faces away, decidedly in rural and burghal areas with college Medicaid populations. In abounding rural and burghal communities, supermarkets accommodate the alone pharmacies able to serve Medicaid patients By abbreviation Medicaid reimbursements as this law requires, abounding pharmacies would be affected to close, and low-income Americans would accept to biking abounding afar to access basic medicines.

Alexandria, Va. (Vocus/PRWEB ) May 20, 2008 -- An bread-and-butter impact study of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 finds that 11,105 pharmacies above the country could abutting due to reductions in the Medicaid agreement rate, able-bodied below their amount to ample prescriptions. These pharmacies accomplish added than 300,000 jobs and $31.1 billion throughout the nation's economy.

NACDS Logo

The report, appear accordingly today by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), analyzes the abeyant appulse of the DRA on pharmacies (Impact of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 on Pharmacies by State), encompassing alternation biologic stores, absolute pharmacies and accumulation merchants and supermarkets with pharmacies.

To the admeasurement that pharmacy closures artlessly alter patients to added pharmacies, the net impacts would be smaller. However, this offers little achievement to pharmacies in rural areas and burghal neighborhoods with ample Medicaid populations back these areas would be absurd to sustain their businesses and advance pharmacy access. The accident of pharmacies for these Medicaid participants would abnormally affect their health, according to NACDS and FMI.

The Medicaid affairs pays retail pharmacies a dispensing fee additional a agreement rate
designed to awning the amount of accepting the biologic from the architect for Medicaid
prescriptions. The changes in the Medicaid agreement ante beneath the DRA could badly lower pharmacy agreement ante and aftereffect in bags of pharmacies closing, authoritative pharmacies beneath accessible to patients.

The abstraction is based on estimates provided in able affidavit by Steven Schondelmeyer, a assistant at the University of Minnesota, that 20 percent of pharmacies could abutting due to the DRA.

The abstraction finds that the appulse of the abatement in agreement ante on the amount of pharmacies will alter by state. However, the better allotment reductions in pharmacies are projected in New York (40 percent), the District of Columbia (37 percent), Louisiana (32 percent), West Virginia (30 percent) and Alaska (28 percent).

“These cuts abuse to abate acceptance to medications and pharmacy services, and they aswell abuse the animation of communities,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “Pharmacies are the face of adjacency healthcare, but these cuts could clean these faces away, decidedly in rural and burghal areas with college Medicaid populations.”

“In abounding rural and burghal communities, supermarkets accommodate the alone pharmacies able to serve Medicaid patients,” said Tim Hammonds, admiral and CEO at FMI. “By abbreviation Medicaid reimbursements as this law requires, abounding pharmacies would be affected to close, and low-income Americans would accept to biking abounding afar to access basic medicines.”

The abstraction was conducted for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Food Marketing Institute by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the assurance, tax and advising firm.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores represents the nation’s arch retail alternation pharmacies and suppliers, allowance them bigger accommodated the alteration needs of their patients and customers. Chain pharmacies accomplish added than 39,000 pharmacies, apply 114,000 pharmacists, ample added than 2.4 billion prescriptions yearly, and accept anniversary sales of over $700 billion. Other associates cover 1,010 suppliers of articles and casework to the alternation biologic industry. NACDS all-embracing associates includes 101 associates from 29 countries. For added advice about NACDS, appointment www.NACDS.org.

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in research, education, industry relations and accessible address on account of its 1,500 affiliate companies — aliment retailers and wholesalers — in the United States and about the world. FMI’s U.S. associates accomplish about 26,000 retail aliment food with a accumulated anniversary sales aggregate of $680 billion — three-quarters of all retail aliment abundance sales in the United States. FMI’s retail associates is composed of ample multi-store chains, bounded firms and absolute supermarkets. Its all-embracing associates includes 200 companies from added than 50 countries.

South Dakota Medicaid Selects FourThought Group

FourThought Group will accomplish planning appropriate to alter the South Dakota's Department of Social Services' 24-year-old Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). An important allotment of this activity is ciphering the amount and allowances of the backup options.

Pierre, SD -- South Dakota awarded FourThought Group (4TG) a arrangement to do the capital planning appropriate to alter the Department of Social Services (DSS) 24-year-old Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) with an MMIS that is able abundant to abutment the evolving business needs of the South Dakota’s Medicaid program.

“To accommodated South Dakota’s needs, we apparent VisionStep, our latest addition for planning, designing and managing healthcare arrangement implementations,” said 4TG Executive Consultant Robin Mathias.

VisionStep is the aftereffect of 16 years of acquaintance as the arch ascendancy of collective appliance architecture in the Medicaid market, two years of alive with our anticipate catchbasin of Medicaid leaders, acute captivation with the development of Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA), and the accumulated ability of our consulting and activity administration staff. VisionStep includes specialized accoutrement to abutment every footfall of an MMIS backup project. From antecedent visioning to final testing, VisionStep combines complete alignment with different accoutrement and applied information. Because the accoutrement and alignment are chip every footfall of the way, the aftereffect is a smooth, well-managed project.

Rod Kranzler, MMIS Project Manager for DSS, said that VisionStep is what fabricated 4TG so attractive. "VisionStep demonstrates acumen into MITA and responds to South Dakota's different needs," he said.

FourThought Group has been called to abetment the State of South Dakota with the MMIS backup planning process. As the abstruse abetment contractor, 4TG will:

 

Establish cardinal administration all-important to adapt for MMIS replacement. Identify and appraise MMIS backup options. Develop cost/benefit and accident appraisal for backup options. Gather and ascertain State’s accepted and approaching MMIS business and technology needs. Develop an accomplishing advanced planning certificate and appeal for proposals for the design, development and accomplishing phase. Assist with RFP evaluation, bell-ringer alternative and arrangement negotiation.
"Only FourThought Group offered an chip set of accoutrement and methods to abutment the absolute accretion process," said Jessica Malone, Assistant Director of DSS Medical Services.

About FourThought Group

FourThought Group is a admired anticipation baton in the government healthcare marketplace. They appearance the approaching of Medicaid technology through their administration as allotment of the MITA team. 4TG combines insight, addition and candor to advance their clients’ business outcomes. 4TG’s consultants are accustomed leaders in artifice control, MITA, accommodation support, MMIS planning, HIPAA, and absolute validation and verification.

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