Sacramento Pharmacy worries about Medicaid reimbursements

Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY)

Feb. 14--When Dr. Gregg Henry opened Sacramento Pharmacy five years ago, he had a business philosophy: Take care of customers, and they will take care of you.

His business quickly developed a loyal following from Sacramento, Bremen and farm communities around those towns.

Customers turned out in droves for Henry's first customer appreciation day, where he set up a water slide, and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

Now, Henry needs his loyal customers like never before. He's asking them to attend a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Sacramento Elementary School gym.

His pharmacy is fighting for its life because the state's Medicaid reimbursements to small, independent pharmacies for prescription drugs they dispense have dropped for a year now. Worse yet, they keep going lower.

"If we are seeing a net loss on each (Medicaid) customer who comes through the door, we won't be able to survive," Henry said.

He could quit serving Medicaid patients, but that's not an option for a businessman who puts customers first.

Henry serves a rural area where jobs are scarce, pay scales are lower and health insurance benefits often don't exist. He estimates more than 50 percent of his customers rely on Medicaid, so the drop in reimbursements has had a huge impact on his business.

Senate Bill 5 could help the state's independent pharmacies, Henry said. At Thursday's meeting, he hopes to educate the public about the problem his business is facing, introduce SB 5 to attendees and ask them to contact their legislators in support of the bill.

"We need to rally support (for SB 5)," Henry said.

The Health and Welfare Committee is set to discuss SB 5 on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

He expects a representative from the Kentucky Independent Pharmacy Alliance to attend Thursday's meeting, along with other regional pharmacists.

In essence, SB 5 would take the middleman out of today's reimbursement equation. In Kentucky, pharmacy benefit managers -- corporations with direct ties to medical and insurance giants -- negotiate pricing with drug companies and reimburse pharmacies after they dispense drugs.

The bill would make the Department for Medicaid Services solely responsible for those reimbursements.

Sacramento Mayor Betty Howard has been studying the issue. She feels pharmacy benefit managers have slashed payments to the state's independent pharmacies "in an attempt to shut down their competition."

"It's critical that people understand," she said. "It's going to close (Sacramento Pharmacy's) doors. That will have a huge impact on Sacramento and the surrounding counties."

Sacramento Pharmacy is the only one for a 10-mile radius.

"It's such a blessing to Sacramento," Howard said. "To lose that would impact us greatly."

Renee Beasley Jones, 270-228-2835, rbeasleyjones@messenger-inquirer.com

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