ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 88
BY REPRESENTATIVE ECHOLS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To request the Louisiana Department of Health to utilize increased collections from
pharmacy rebates to reimburse pharmacists to acquire prescription drugs and then
to increase rates for primary care providers and pharmacists in the Medicaid
program.
WHEREAS, pharmacists are highly educated healthcare professionals who provide
convenient, high-quality healthcare services, including medication management therapy,
immunizations, long-acting injectable medications, disease management, point-of-care
testing, and patient assessments and screenings to a great number of patients; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana pharmacists work in partnership with other healthcare entities
and providers to improve patient outcomes and public health in this state; and
WHEREAS, funds are paid to the state in the form of a prescription drug rebate
through the Medicaid drug rebate program as a result of outpatient prescription drugs
dispensed by pharmacists to Medicaid patients; and
WHEREAS, the term "primary care" refers to routine healthcare services delivered
by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal healthcare
needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of
family and community; this care includes screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment
for the purpose of promoting a person's health and detecting and managing a person's disease
or injury; and
WHEREAS, primary care and pharmacy services are a vital component of any
healthcare system and are essential for improving and maintaining the health of any
population; and
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WHEREAS, enhancing healthcare provider reimbursement rates for primary care
providers and pharmacists in the Louisiana Medicaid program is a direct incentive for
increasing the availability of this much-needed care in our state; and
WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 1 of the 2020 Second Extraordinary Session of
the Legislature requested a study of the costs and benefits of setting Medicaid
reimbursement rates for primary care services equivalent to Medicare rates for those
services; and
WHEREAS, the resulting study found that Louisiana's Medicaid program pays on
average sixty-seven percent of the rates provided by Medicare; and
WHEREAS, the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Executive Budget recommendation includes
nine hundred fifty-one million twenty-five thousand nine hundred ninety-four dollars in
pharmacy rebates that offset the expenditure need of the Medicaid program; and
WHEREAS, the Medicaid Estimating Conference received testimony at its meeting
on April 12, 2022, that projected pharmacy rebate amounts could exceed the amounts
recommended in the Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
request the Louisiana Department of Health to utilize these additional pharmacy rebates to
reimburse pharmacists to acquire prescription drugs and then, if funds remain, to increase
base reimbursement rates provided to primary care and pediatric office visit Evaluation and
Management codes up to one hundred percent of the Medicare reimbursement rates provided
for primary care services in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the director of the Louisiana Medicaid
program.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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