Rep. Marra Supports Local Pharmacies, House Bill 6091

On the same day as a legislative public hearing on the matter, State Rep. Tracy Marra joined Debi Hibben, owner of Grieb’s Pharmacy in Darien, and Tim Harvey, pharmacy manager, to discuss House Bill 6091, An Act Concerning Equitable Medicaid Audit, Billing and Reimbursement for Pharmacies, and other concerns regarding local pharmacies in Connecticut.

Rep. Marra, a trained pharmacist, supports the bill which would mandate the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services “(1) provide a receipt confirmation process to a pharmacy concerning any notices from the department or a pharmacy regarding pharmacy billing, and (2) maintain a reliable database accessible to a pharmacy of the preferred drug list approved pursuant to section 17b-274d of the general statutes.”

The database would also need to be updated with “real-time information regarding denials and approvals of drugs for inclusion on such preferred drug list’ and the commissioner would be required to “implement a grievance process … by which a pharmacy may challenge the Medicaid reimbursement for dispensing a prescribed drug that does not cover a pharmacy’s cost in dispensing such drug to a Medicaid recipient.”