Cut to Pharmacists' Reimbursement Called 'Drastic'

New York pharmacists are criticizing a "drastic" cut in reimbursement rates, which they say could force some pharmacies out of business.

The 2.25% cut, which took effect yesterday, lowers the reimbursement rate for pharmacists filling prescriptions for patients enrolled in the state's Medicaid and Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage programs. Designed by state lawmakers seeking health care savings, the reduction will effectively lower fees to pharmacists by 38% and cost the industry about $50 million, industry officials said.

Following years of reimbursement cuts, some said the latest reduction would be unsustainable.

"Pharmacies are closing or dropping out of the Medicaid program because it's just not worth participating," the president of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York and a practicing pharmacist, Donald Cantalino, said. About 200 pharmacies have stopped filling Medicaid prescriptions in recent years, he said.

"It's unfair of the state to continue to balance their budget on the backs of the provider," Mr. Cantalino said. "It affects the quality of care we provide."

According to Mr. Cantalino, pharmacists in New York are now the lowest paid in the country. California pharmacists have similar reimbursement rates, but they receive a $7.25 fee for dispensing medication, while the dispensing fee paid to pharmacists in New York is $3.50.

"We have been put in a position where we are working on vapors in terms of profit margin," the manager of Healthcare Pharmacy Services in East Harlem, Mark Skopov, said. Mr. Skopov said he no longer has time to counsel patients and that he cannot afford to replace employees who retired or switched jobs.

Mr. Cantalino, who owns Uniondale Chemists in Uniondale, N.Y., said he recently obtained a $140,000 line of credit from one of his suppliers so that he could stay keep his doors open.

"This is the final straw," he said. "If I fall behind again, I'll sell the company or I'll just lock up."