Voters would rather see Medicaid spending reduced by better managing pharmacy benefits than cutting benefits for patients or payments to providers, according to a new poll commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
The PCMA report, conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, follows a recent study by the Lewin Group that indicated Medicaid pharmacies could save more than $30 billion over the next decade by transitioning from the current approach used by state Medicaid fee-for-service programs.
"This poll shows Congress and governors how to reduce billions in Medicaid spending without harming patients or inciting a voter backlash," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. "Voters don't want Medicaid to pay pharmacies more and use fewer generics than other programs."
The PCMA survey found that by an 80 percent-to-15-percent margin, voters don't want Medicaid to pay drugstores more for prescription drugs than private plans pay.
According to the poll, voters supported reducing spending on Medicaid by a 63-percent-to-25 percent margin "if it did not require cutting benefits for patients in the program." A plurality of voters opposes reducing spending on Medicaid (49 percent to 36 percent) "if it meant reducing benefits for patients in the program or allowing fewer people to participate in the program."
One likely reason for voters' flexibility regarding Medicaid pharmacy is that the vast majority of voters have at least three pharmacies in their area, poll researchers surmised. Eighty-five percent of voters have at least three pharmacies in their area, including 61 percent who have more than five pharmacies in their area.