By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Independent pharmacists say the state’s new Medicaid managed care program could put some of them out of business.
Under Gov. Bruce Rauner’s expansion of Medicaid last year, Pharmacy Benefit Managers or PBMs are setting how much the drug stores can charge for each prescription. Manager of Axline Pharmacy in Bloomington, Rob Bean, said the pharmacy has to sell many Medicaid prescriptions at a loss. He told WJBC’s Sam Wood he’s concerned about patients losing access to care, primarily in rural areas.
PODCAST: Listen to Sam’s interview with Bean on WJBC.
“If Axline in Bloomington went out of business, there might not been too many that would bat an eye, but when you talk about some of our rural locations and other independent pharmacies
throughout Illinois, when their pharmacies close it’s definitely noticed,” Bean said.
Axline owns five other pharmacies in Central Illinois and plans to open a sixth location soon.
Bean added he was “fired up” after hearing Rauner at a Small Business Week event suggest the some businesses can’t be competitive in costs.
“This really isn’t about competition,” Bean said. “We’re not setting the prices here.”
“The PBMs set the take-it-or-leave-it prices, some of which can be considered predatory. It can be pretty hard to compete on that landscape.”
Bean and some independently-owned pharmacies are backing a measure that’s passed the Illinois House. It would require the state to pay pharmacies what it calls ‘fair and reasonable’ rates.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
