Walgreens To Reject All New Medicaid Patients in Washington

Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across Washington state will reject any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition. The company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients, but could not take any more, due to the "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid program, which reimburses at less than the break-even point for 95 percent of brand-name medications dispensed to Medicaid patents.

Walgreens follows Bartell Drugs, which stopped taking new Medicaid patients last month at all 57 of its stores in Washington, though it still fills Medicaid prescriptions for existing customers at all but 15 of those stores. Along with Walgreens and Bartell, the Ritzville Drug Company in Adams County announced in November that it would stop participating in Medicaid.

Medicaid reimbursements vary by state. EIR will investigate where else this new deadly blow to the poor is being imposed under Obamacare.