Corpus Christi pharmacy joins federal lawsuit to delay Medicaid cuts

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Corpus Christi pharmacy joined others in a federal lawsuit to delay Texas' planned move to managed care for Medicaid services.

DeLeon's Pharmacy, a Texas TrueCare pharmacy, partnered with seven parties in the lawsuit against the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

As part of a list of initiatives aimed at controlling costs, the Texas Legislature approved letting the Health and Human Services Commission expand its managed care program March 1.

When a Medicaid recipient gets a prescription filled, the pharmacist submits a claim to the state's vendor drug program seeking reimbursement.

When the claim is processed, the state pays the pharmacist a dispensing fee and the drug company pays the pharmacist a fee tied to the cost of the medication. The proposed changes would slash the professional dispensing fee — now about $6.50 per prescription — to less than $2, though fees will be negotiated by health plans with pharmacists.

The lawsuit claims that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission failed to establish reasonable standards for the reimbursement of pharmacy claims under Medicaid managed care, in violation of existing law.

The commission failed to take any action to remedy the inequitable fees being imposed on Texas pharmacists, according to the lawsuit.

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Corpus Christi pharmacy joins federal lawsuit to delay Medicaid cuts