Pharmacists say a ten percent cut in the rate Medi-Cal pays to fill prescriptions is putting them under enormous financial strain. Pharmacists had gotten an appeals court to block the cut, but the court reversed itself. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
State lawmakers approved a ten percent cut in Medi-Cal rates to healthcare providers earlier this year. It's part of the effort to reduce the state's budget deficit.
Lynn Rolston heads up the California Pharmacists Association. She says pharmacists are losing money on about half of all Medi-Cal prescriptions. Rolston says most of her members will have to stop serving Medi-Cal patients.
Lynn Rolston: They don't have a choice. I mean, they're losing hundreds of dollars a day, especially the pharmacies that are providing care in cases like AIDS and cancer.
Rolston's association is involved in three different lawsuits aimed at blocking the cuts. Doctors and dentists are also asking the courts to intervene.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
