MCOs Will Approve Necessary Refills for Affected Members After Governor’s Executive Order

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 5, 2012) – Kentuckians displaced by storms who receive healthcare benefits through Medicaid can receive up to a 30-day supply of needed medicines from their pharmacy, the Department for Medicaid Services announced today. Co-pays for these maintenance prescriptions will also be waived.

The managed care organizations (MCOs) that provide health care to more than 730,000 Kentuckians across the state are notifying pharmacies of this policy. Medicaid members affected by weekend storms not served by an MCO are also eligible for replacement medications, and co-pays will be waived.

This policy is in line with the executive order signed by Governor Steve Beshear over the weekend to allow Kentuckians displaced by the storms to get up to a 30-day supply of needed medicines from a pharmacist. The right to receive an emergency refill applies only to residents of counties that have declared a state of emergency. Currently, those counties are: Ballard, Bath, Carroll, Campbell, Grant, Grayson, Hardin, Johnson, Kenton, Laurel, Lawrence, McCracken, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Owsley, Pendleton, Rowan, Russell and Trimble. This is the first time this particular executive order has been issued.

“Many Kentuckians depend on regular maintenance medications, like blood pressure pills, and skipping a few days could cause unnecessary hardship or possible poor health outcomes for some citizens,” said Gov. Beshear. “This order will allow people to contact a pharmacist to restore their regular medications.”

Medicaid members and others who depend on regular supplies of maintenance medicines may have lost track of their medications in the aftermath of the storms, and the executive order allows not only for a temporary restoration of those drugs, but also allows for pharmacists to dispense those prescriptions from facilities outside their regular pharmacies. The order does not allow for emergency refills of controlled substances.

“Medicaid members who have been affected by the recent storms and have lost access to maintenance medications should contact their local pharmacy to receive a resupply,” said Neville Wise, acting commissioner of DMS. “We hope this policy will help our members stay healthy. We appreciate the MCOs willingness to work with us to focus on the needs of our members through this tough period of recovery.”

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