TWO PHARMACY TRADE associations representing Walgreens filed a lawsuit in June against Delaware to put a stop to Medicaid
rate cuts there, according to The News Journal in Wilmington.
The lawsuit was filed a week after Walgreens announced it would stop filling prescriptions of brand-name medications for Medicaid
patients at its Delaware locations. Walgreens operates under the Happy Harry's name in Delaware. The suit, which names Delaware
Gov. Jack Markell, Delaware's Dept. of Health and Social Services, and its secretary, Rita Landgraf, was filed in U.S. District
Court by the National Community Pharmacists Assn. and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. The pharmacy organizations
also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking a judge to stop the rate cuts while the lawsuit is being considered.
Gov. Markell said that the suit will not intimidate his administration into paying Walgreens higher reimbursement rates. "If
these are negotiating tactics, they are not good ones," he said. "We are always open to conversation, but we will not be bullied,
especially when we are asking so many individuals and organizations in Delaware to share in the sacrifices necessary to close
an $800 million budget gap."
The lawsuit claims the state failed to follow its own legal procedures before instituting cuts in the Medicaid reimbursement
rates it pays pharmacies. It also accuses the state of violating federal law by failing to consider the impact the proposed
rates will have on patient access to care. The plaintiffs say the new rates will lead to more pharmacies closing their doors
to Medicaid clients. Walgreens' decision has caused backlash in Delaware. One senator introduced legislation that would increase taxes on pharmacies
that do not participate in Medicaid and a state representative called for the state to terminate a contract that allows state
employees to have their prescriptions filled at Happy Harry's.
REDUCE HIV TRANSMISSION
In order to reduce the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission, the Delaware State Senate passed a bill that would add HIV
testing to the standard battery of tests given to all pregnant women. Women would be able to choose to "opt out" of taking
the test, says http://WMTD.com/.
AETNA SHIFTS TO TELEWORK
In an effort to cut costs, Aetna U.S. Healthcare intends to close its Dover center when its lease expires at the end of the
year and have most of its 169 staffers work from home, according to The News Journal in Wilmington.
Aetna opened the center in 1997 at the Blue Hen Mall/Corporate Center, where workers specialize in processing large, multi-state
employee plans. Most workers are customer-service call-takers.
Employees will be gradually shifted to teleworking so that customer-service glitches can be avoided. Workers who don't want
to set up shop at home will be offered transfer to another facility.
MHE Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Urban Institute; Kaiser Family Foundation; U.S. Census Bureau; The
Commonwealth Fund; National Center for Health Statistics; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
