State to fill Rx benefit void
Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2006
Gov. Mike Huckabee declared a public emergency Wednesday and said the state would pay the costs of providing prescription drugs for those who lost coverage when Medicare started covering prescriptions at the start of the year.
He said "the elderly and the most frail"in the state cannot afford to wait for the federal government to untangle what he described as "glitches"in the new Medicare drug program. Getting drugs to those who need them is a "life and death issue,"he said.
He said U. S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt had assured him that pharmacists who filled prescriptions for those who should be covered by the Medicare drug benefit would be reimbursed and that "we hope the federal government will be able to reimburse us."
Several other governors have made similar declarations, ordering that state funds be spent to pay the costs of the federal program. Huckabee said he knew of 10 to 12 other states that are taking similar steps and that most of the states are struggling with this issue.
But the governor stressed that his declaration was a "stopgap"solution and the state could no more fix the drug program "than bring peace to the Middle East."He said he hoped federal officials would mend any problems in the program quickly.
"It's becoming increasingly apparent that they don't have a solution, at least today,"Huckabee said. "We hope within days they will."
U. S. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., said he has asked President Bush to declare a similar emergency for the country. Berry is the only pharmacist in Congress and holds a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, which plays a key role in determining where the government should spend money.
"This is no less a disaster than the hurricanes that hit the coast last year,"Berry said in a telephone interview. "We've got people who are going to die because they can't get their medicine. Either they can't afford it or they don't know how to go about getting it."
If Bush doesn't immediately order additional funding to reimburse states for the costs, Berry said, he'll introduce it as a bill before the committee.
"We'll have to do it for all 50 states. So it'll be a considerable appropriation,"Berry said. "I expect there to be a lot of support for this."
Huckabee's declaration came after he met Wednesday morning with Mark Riley, executive vice president of the state Pharmacists Association, who said he asked the state to help pharmacists who were filling prescriptions but weren't sure if the government would pay them.
Riley said pharmacists had "files several inches thick of claims"that were going unreimbursed by the government. He said the pharmacists were running out of money and he expected most to stop filling prescriptions next week, leaving many people not listed as being covered by the Medicare drug program to go without medicine.
Hours before the governor's announcement, Rep. Dustin McDaniel, D-Jonesboro and a candidate for attorney general, said Huckabee should take emergency steps to make sure people get their drugs.
On Monday, Attorney General Mike Beebe, a Democrat and candidate for governor in November, said Huckabee should make more Medicaid money available for drug coverage.
Huckabee said state and federal laws barred using state Medicaid dollars to support the federal Medicare program.
Many of the problems with the new Medicare drug program have been felt by those who were once covered under state Medicaid programs. Medicare is a federal program of health care for those over 65, while Medicaid is a state and federal program of coverage for the poor and the disabled.
About 61, 000 people in Arkansas and 6. 2 million nationwide saw their drug coverage switch from Medicaid to Medicare when the new drug program went into effect Jan. 1.
But pharmacists have since complained that the program has been plagued by computer problems. People aren't always listed as receiving low-income benefits or even as recipients of coverage under the program. Names have been left off databases, leading private drug companies that contract with Medicare not to reimburse pharmacists.
Huckabee said he has ordered the state Department of Health and Human Services to draw on "operating funds"to reimburse pharmacists who are distributing drugs to individuals who should be covered by the Medicare program.
Alice Stewart, a spokesman for Huckabee, said the pharmacists know who should be on the program. She said problems are particularly bad in rural areas, where pharmacists have a good relationship with the elderly and those who should be covered by the Medicare drug program.
"They know who falls under this program,"Stewart said.
John Selig, director of the state department, said he hasn't determined which funds to draw on to pay for the benefit or how much the department can afford to spend.
Huckabee said the state would initially reimburse pharmacies for costs incurred during the first two weeks of January, which he called "the most critical area."
After that, he said the state would be "continually reviewing"to make sure people get their drugs. He said Leavitt told him "this problem would be fixed in a matter of days."
"That's very comforting and I certainly trust Secretary Leavitt,"Huckabee said. "But we've got patients out there who need their medicine today, not in a few days, and we need to put that medicine in their systems now."
Huckabee said federal reimbursements are slow in coming, and if Selig's department runs out of cash, he will call for a special legislative session to appropriate more.
"I'm sure the Legislature would be willing to do that. We hope that's not what ends up happening,"Huckabee said.
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