The Alabama Medicaid Pharmacy Study Commission last week heard a proposal from retail giant Walmart to make the stores Alabama’s main pharmacy provider through Medicaid, according to the Birmingham Business Journal.
The Commission, which is tasked with finding cost cutting measures for the drug program under Medicaid, heard the proposal from Walmart Stores Inc. representative Kevin McCarter.
Al.com reports that part of McCarter’s proposal includes the fact that 78 percent of Alabama Medicaid patients live within 10 miles of a Walmart store.
Another possibility to cut drug costs for Medicaid in Alabama is use of a pharmacy benefit manager such as CVS Caremark, Express Scripts or MedImpact Healthcare, all of which presented to the Commission on Thursday.
Gov. Robert Bentley has opted not to expand Alabama’s Medicaid program as a part of the Affordable Care Act citing that the state cannot afford it. Conversely, a few recent studies have shown the potential benefit to the state if the program were to be expanded.
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