Medicaid Prescription Drug Charges
The Medicaid program is being overcharged for prescription drugs, George M. Reeb testified to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. Mr. Reeb, assistant inspector general for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Audits at the Department of Health and Human Services, said part of the problem is that states vary greatly in the reimbursement amounts they set for prescription drugs.
For example, “based on state data, we estimated that, overall, Medicaid could have saved as much as $86.7 million in fiscal year 2001 if all 42 states had reimbursed at the same price as the lowest paying state for each of the drugs reviewed,” he said in his testimony.
Among his recommendations is that states be provided with enhanced access to accurate wholesale pricing information and adopt other strategies to contain costs.