State to Sue Feds Over Drug Program
Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 09:01 CST
By Rebecca Vesely, STAFF WRITER
California plans to sue the federal government over its troubled Medicare prescription drug program, arguing it will cost the state $750 million in what amounts to an unlawful tax, Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced Wednesday.
California will join what is expected to be a multistate suit to be filed later this month in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lockyer said in a statement that it is petitioning the Supreme Court to exercise jurisdiction over the matter because it concerns the issue of states' rights.
"We are going to challenge it to ensure the state does not have to pay the federal government for a program that has more flaws than prescriptions," Lockyer said in the statement.
The law that created the drug benefit, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, includes a provision requiring states to reimburse the federal government of any savings accrued because they are no longer providing prescription drugs to low-income residents.
This so-called "clawback" was supposed to save states money because, as of Jan. 1, they were no longer running the prescription drug program for patients dually eligible for both state Medicaid programs, called Medi-Cal in California, and Medicare. There are 1.1 million dually eligible Medi-Cal and Medicare patients in California.
Instead of saving California money, however, the new Medicare drug program, called Part D, is estimated to cost the state $758 million through fiscal year 2008-09, according to the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst's Office.
The cost is based on a formula used by the federal government to determine each state's reimbursement requirement. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the Part D program, were not immediately available for comment Wednesday. In recent weeks, CMS has disputed some of the states' clawback estimates.
In a statement, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was prepared to join the suit if the federal government does not withdraw state payment requirements.
He said states were promised they would save 10 percent over what they otherwise would have paid by continuing to provide medications to the dually eligible.
"Our state is poised to take action to ensure California does not pay more than its fair share," he said in the statement.
Source: Oakland Tribune
Related Articles
- New CASA* Report Finds Federal, State and Local Governments Spend Almost Half a Trillion Dollars a Year on Substance Abuse and Addiction
- Information Strategies Provides Microsoft Stimulus360 Solutions for Federal, State and Local Governments to Track Stimulus Spending
- Geothermal Energy Bringing Millions of New Dollars to Federal, State, and Local Governments, Industry Report Concludes
- Medicare Bidding Program for Dallas, Texas is Rife With Errors, Says American Association for Homecare
- Medicare Bidding Program in Kansas City is Plagued By Problems, Says American Association for Homecare
- 30 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Now Receiving Prescription Drug Coverage
- To Address Medicare Part D Confusion, States Take Matters into Their Own Hands; CMS Heeds Call
- US to help reimburse states for Medicare drugs
- Silver Tips: Don't Qualify for Full Medicare? These Programs Can Help
- A Tuition Assistance Program for Federal, State, and Local Government Employees Is Now Being Offered By Touro University International
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds