Forum Session

Medicaid Prescription Drug Coverage: State Efforts to Control Costs
June 17, 2003

Manager

Dawn M. Gencarelli

Summary

This meeting explored the many different strategies—such as preferred drug lists/formularies, disease management, supplemental rebates, and purchasing pools—being used by states to control their Medicaid prescription drug spending. Speakers examined the effectiveness of these strategies and the challenges they present. They highlighted the experiences of their individual states, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Minnesota, including positive results and unintended consequences. The May 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Maine prescription drug program and its potential impact on other states were discussed.

Speakers

Lynn Mitchell, MD, MPH, State Medicaid Director, Oklahoma Health Care Authority; Mark D. Trail, Chief, Medical Assistance Plans, Georgia Department of Community Health; James M. Verdier, Senior Fellow, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.; Cody Wiberg, PharmD, RPh, Pharmacy Program Manager, Minnesota Department of Human Services

Related Materials

More information available in the accompanying publication, Issue Brief No. 790.