Some long-term care pharmacies in Maine say they may need to reduce services because of lower prices for certain Medicare drugs that went into effect at the start of the year.
Courtney Orland, president of Brunswick-based Guardian Pharmacy of Maine, said they're now being reimbursed significantly less for the discounted drugs, some of which are commonly prescribed to the patients they serve.
"You know, what I might have been paid $25 for before, I might get paid $5 for," Orland said. "But it's not it's not costing me any less to get that drug out the store into a delivery vehicle and off to a nursing home or an assisted living or a group home or a boarding home, locally or rurally."
Orland said she's hoping Congress will take action and institute a temporary fee on prescriptions for newly discounted Medicare drugs that are dispensed by long-term care pharmacies.
