Hospital Groups Concerned By Prescription Drug Change
Updated: Feb 1, 2023
Original article written by Nick Resiman for Spectrum News NY1
A change in Medicaid funding for prescription drugs could cost New York safety net hospitals big in the state budget, industry groups warned Governor Andrew Cuomo in an open letter earlier this month that these cuts would impact low-income New Yorkers. The letter calls on state officials to reverse the provision, which switches the Medicaid pharmacy benefit from Medicaid managed care to fee-for-service. According to the article, it is estimated that around 100 hospitals will lose $87 million next year due to the change in funding policy, on top of the millions of dollars in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. "If allowed to stand, this massive policy and operational shift will jeopardize the solvency of critical health care services and programs for vulnerable and low-income populations currently benefiting from the investments made by hospitals using 340B savings," the groups writes in the letter.
