Medicare managed care Rx benefits may improve despite reimbursement cuts, APhA's Schulke suggests.
Executive Summary
MEDICARE HMO PAYMENT CUTS COULD INDIRECTLY IMPROVE Rx BENEFITS, APhA EXEC David Schulke suggested during a University of South Carolina pharmacy public policy seminar in Hilton Head, S.C. Feb. 9. Managed care companies have suggested that reimbursement cuts under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act could put drug benefits (offered by some plans as an inducement to seniors) in jeopardy. Schulke acknowledged that the changes will probably "put pressure on drug benefits," but maintained that the drug benefit is "such a powerful draw to get people to enroll in your plan, you wonder whether [eliminating drug benefits] will work."