With the disappearance of the dispensing fee, some small pharmacists could be out of business
Because two of the three new Medicaid managed-care companies have slashed the dispensing fee they will pay them, independent pharmacists are in danger of going out of business all over the state, pharmacists told the interim joint Health and Welfare Committee Wednesday. But one managed-care firm said that's the cost of saving money for the taxpayers, the reason the state implemented managed care statewide. Under the traditional Medicaid system, "pharmacists were paid a 'dispensing fee' per prescription of $4.50 to $5 plus reimbursement for their actual cost of the drug based on an industry formula called the 'maximum allowable cost,'" reports Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal.
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