Washington state rescinds plan to cut Medicaid reimbursement

NWE YORK A lawsuit by retail pharmacies and a patient with HIV has prevented Washington state from enacting large cuts to Medicaid prescription reimbursement rates, according to published reports.

Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services had lowered the reimbursement rate from 86% to 80%, the lowest in the country, after the state legislature passed and Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill to slash the state budget due to a deficit of more than $9 billion.

The retail pharmacies, including Walgreens and Bartell Drugs, along with the HIV patient, filed a lawsuit in federal court to reverse the change, arguing that the changes would make filling prescriptions for Medicaid recipients financially untenable, forcing them to turn down recipients at some or all of their stores