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Friday, January 16, 2004
Pharmacists, patients pan Medicaid cuts
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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AUGUSTA — For Robert Brudevold of Portland, the stakes couldn't be higher as lawmakers review Gov. John Baldacci's bid to cut Medicaid spending to help balance the state budget. Brudevold told lawmakers Thursday he relies on state subsidies to buy five prescription medications every month. But he cannot always afford the required co-payment, so if that increases it could be catastrophic for him. He said the cost of his blood pressure medication would more than double under the governor's plan, yet that prescription alone could spell the difference between life and death for him. "Without that prescription, I would be at risk for a stroke or heart attack," Brudevold said. "I was diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was 15 years old and my mother died of a stroke. This is a serious health problem that runs in my family, so the medication is essential." The governor's plan to increase the co-pay for both generic and brand-name drugs under the Drugs for the Elderly Program was a focal point of Thursday's Appropriations Commit- tee meeting, as the panel held the third of four hearings on Baldacci's proposals for eliminating a $108 million shortfall in this year's state budget. The plan includes $22 million in Medicaid cuts. The administration wants to cut some of the $22 million on its own this month, but some cuts require legislative action and the Legislature has the power to undo administration cuts it doesn't like. Other aspects of the governor's Medicaid plan also drew fire Thursday, including an $8.5 million cut in state reimbursements to hospitals for services they provide to Medicaid recipients. The loss of the state funds would trigger an even bigger cut in federal funding, putting the total reduction in hospital payments at $25 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. "These cuts are unacceptable," said Mary Mayhew of the Maine Hospital Association. "They will damage providers and exacerbate the health insurance affordability crisis." Thanks to previous cuts made earlier this year, Mayhew said, "hospitals have done more than their fair share to solve the state's budget problems and we cannot take any more." On another front, the administration has scaled back a pending reduction in Medicaid prescription payments to pharmacies, but the revisions remained unacceptable to pharmacies. Dean Jacobs of Waltz Pharmacy in Camden, which has drugstores in several communities, told the committee in writing that his company "will be reviewing the services we provide to accommodate for this significant blow to our net profit. Services and work force will be scaled back" if the cuts occur. Lee Umphrey, Baldacci's spokesman, defended the cuts Thursday, saying they are unpleasant but necessary. "The governor is committed to not raising taxes," Umphrey said in an interview. "He wants to focus on creating opportunity in Maine, even if it's at the expense of these tough cuts." Umphrey rejected a suggestion from the Maine Medical Association that the state raise the cigarette tax to help protect health-care funding. He said the governor does not view that as an option. Trish Riley, the governor's chief adviser on health care, gave a similar message to the legislative committee. "These are very, very tough times," Riley told lawmakers. "They require very, very tough decisions." Insisting that Baldacci believes in Medicaid, Riley said the governor is asking providers and recipients to help the state keep its books in the black. The administration blames the budget shortfall in part on accounting problems within the Department of Human Services that occurred before Baldacci took office. But the current administration's failure to accurately project the demand for Medicaid services also is a factor. In addition to proposing $22 million in Medicaid cuts, the governor would fill part of the budget hole by tapping state surpluses and federal funds. He also has proposed more than $34 million in budget cuts throughout the rest of state government, including reductions in higher-education spending that the Appropriations Committee will consider today. The biggest cuts outside the Medicaid program exceed $9 million from the Office of the Treasurer, $7 million from the University of Maine System, $3 million from the Department of Education and $2 million from the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Other proposed cuts include more than $2 million in non-Medicaid spending at the Department of Human Services.
Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at:
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