Thursday, June 17, 2010
 
sponsored by

As states lobby for Medicaid extension, pharmacists still shut out

Send a link to a friend

[June 17, 2010]  SPRINGFIELD -- As states lobby the federal government to extend the lifeline of increased Medicaid reimbursements, pharmacists are struggling to just tread water.

HardwareFederal stimulus money has temporarily increased reimbursements for Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor and disabled. Illinois doctors, hospitals and nursing homes should receive payment within 30 days, according to stimulus regulations.

But pharmacists are still scratching their heads as to why they were left out of the increased federal funding altogether.

"Nobody can give me a good answer," said Mike Patton, executive director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association.

Nursing Homes

However, Patton speculated that other states' prompt reimbursement to pharmacists is a key factor. A 2007 survey conducted by the National Association of State Medicaid Directors found that all but one of the 44 responding states reported a payment cycle of 35 days or less.

"Why include a class of providers when they're already in compliance," Patton said.

The remaining state reported an average of 60 days, which Patton said sounds too much like Illinois to be a coincidence.

Although the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Human Services has implemented an expedited payment schedule for independently owned pharmacies, Todd Evers is still waiting 80 days to get paid.

"You're still getting stretched out, but in years past, you wouldn't get paid for months at a time," said Evers, who is owed approximately $600,000 for his pharmacies in Collinsville, Belleville, Troy, Millstadt and Mascoutah.

[to top of second column]

An estimate from the Illinois comptroller's office places the current Medicaid backlog to pharmacists at $493 million.

The increased Medicaid reimbursements stand as a national issue as the recession lingers. Thirty states have crafted budgets for the fiscal year set to begin July 1 based on an extension of the increased payments, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Illinois is counting on about $750 million from the increased Medicaid match for the budget approved by lawmakers last month. Gov. Pat Quinn has yet to sign the budget into law, which Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has acknowledged does not meet the constitutional requirement of being a balanced budget.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By MARY MASSINGALE]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor