NACDS, NCPA forge on with Medicaid lawsuit

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association are moving ahead with their lawsuit against Delaware's changes to Medicaid reimbursement rates, even after Walgreens Co. said it no longer supports the suit.

On Monday, it was reported that Walgreens and the state had reached an agreement to change some reimbursement rates. However, Delaware would not make the deal official until the lawsuit was dropped, according to Reuters. The case was filed in June, days after Walgreens threatened to leave Delaware's Medicaid program.

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Walgreens, which with more than 60 stores in the state is the largest drugstore operator in Delaware, later twice delayed its departure from the state's Medicaid program as discussions continued. Delaware told Reuters it should save $250,000 this year with the reimbursement rate at 85.5 percent, down from the $500,000 it expected to save with the rate at 85 percent.

In April Delaware cut its reimbursement level to 84 percent from 86 percent as it tried to chip away at an $800 million budget gap. Walgreens claimed that under the lower reimbursement rate it would lose money on most brand-name drug prescriptions for Medicaid patients.

Delaware said recently that it would give pharmacies a larger reimbursement for filling certain prescriptions with generic drugs, once the lawsuit is dropped. That move would help the state save $250,000, bringing its total savings back up to $500,000.

Earlier this year, Walgreens threatened to bow out of filling Medicaid prescriptions at 44 Washington state pharmacies.