Colo. Gov. vetoes reimbursement bill

DENVER Yesterday, according to published reports, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed a bill that was intended to provide financial relief to pharmacists facing cuts in Medicaid dispensing and reimbursements.

The bill, House Bill 1032, would have increased the state’s reimbursements for generic drugs to the highest federal standards allowed under the Medicaid program to offset the cuts.

Small, independent pharmacists lobbied for the bill, saying pending cuts resulting from the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 would slash Medicaid reimbursements to Colorado pharmacists by as much as 36 percent—potentially forcing some pharmacies who rely on Medicaid recipients out of business. The cuts in Medicaid reimbursements could cost Colorado pharmacies as much as $13.7 million in reimbursements, according to one estimate.

But Ritter wrote in a message the legislation was “premature, unnecessary and restrictive” because the cuts are now facing a court challenge and haven’t yet gone into effect. “Until there is clear direction from the federal government on this matter, it is premature to seek a state solution,” Ritter wrote.