Walgreen Pulls WA Pharmacies in Protest
March 31, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Business
Walgreen Co. announced this week that they’d be pulling nearly half of their pharmacies out of Washington in protest of the state’s plan to change their drug reimbursement policies.
Medicaid in Washington plans to insist that their patients use cheaper, generic drugs, rather than brand-name drugs, whenever equivalents are available. In turn, they’ll also cut the rate of reimbursement on drugs for pharmacies that supply them. The plan will drop reimbursements by 6%, which will help keep Medicaid possible for Washington residents, but which may drive some pharmacies out of business.
Walgreen said in a statement on Monday that cutting the reimbursement rate will negatively impact the “economic viability of doing business in Washington.” They’ll withdraw 44 of the 111 pharmacies found in Washington as of May 1 unless Medicaid’s plans change. According to reports, these 44 pharmacies account for more than60% of total Medicaid business in Washington.
Other companies may also follow Walgreen’s lead, and if the two other major pharmaceutical companies in this state – CVS and Rite Aid – also pull out, consumers may have problems filling prescriptions in some areas.
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