Texas State Senator Considers Managed Care Bill

State Sen. Juan Hinojosa will file legislation to carve pharmacies out of Medicaid managed care. He said turning the state’s Medicaid prescription drug program over to for-profit managed care companies has devastated independent pharmacies in Texas.

Under managed care the state contracts the coverage for its 3.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries to heath maintenence organizations. Pharmacists complain that they can’t make money at $1.35 per prescription, down from $6.35 they were earning under the prior Medicaid contracts.