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Texas Medicaid Cuts Could Affect Pharmacy Business

SHERMAN, TX--It's a budget move for the state of Texas, but to stay in business, pharmacies may have to make big business adjustments or simply turn away medicaid patients.

Texas pharmacies may feel a pinch once lower dispensing fees drop into their stores.

"We've been in business since 1984. We've been at this location for 3 years, but we've been here for a long time," Jana Bennett said, Sherman Medicine Shoppe owner.  

Last session, Texas lawmakers looked at a plan that would reduce medicaid reimbursement rates for pharmacies. It could mean businesses lose as much as 80 percent of what they once received from the government.

"There's always a chance that pharmacies are going to say hey, 'I'm done with this. I'm not going to do medicaid anymore because you've made it impossible for me to stay in businesses'," Bennett said.

If revenues dramatically drop, it could put businesses and their employees in jeopardy. But Jana Bennett, owner of the Medicine Shoppe in Sherman, is more worried about her customers.

"I think that's the biggest group that's going to be impacted is the younger portion of the population," Bennett said.

The Texas proposal takes effect this March. Pharmacists are waiting until then before they'll know if they have to turn some patients away.

"So, the rest of the money has to either come out of the pharmacy's pockets or a co-pay from the patient, which they're not use to paying co-pays now," Bennett said.

Drug store owners are pushing for solutions to lessen the impact of the move.

"I know they're working on it now but we're running out of time," Bennett said.

Pharmacists are waiting to see if the Lone Star state picks the right prescription.