Druggists squeeze injured workers
By Dale Kasler and Andy Furillo -- Bee Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 4, 2004
Complete article at http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8211837p-9142977c.html
Furious over a 25 percent cut in the payments they get for filling injured workers' prescriptions, some of California's leading drugstore chains are threatening to charge workers upfront unless the payments are increased.
The 547 Sav-on pharmacies in California already require workers to pay for the drugs and seek reimbursement from their employers' insurance carrier, according to a letter the chain sent recently to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now other big chains are threatening similar action, including Walgreens and Longs Drugs.
The drug chains, which together control a huge share of the California market, are protesting a provision in the workers' compensation overhaul signed into law last fall by then-Gov. Gray Davis. The new law, which took effect Jan. 1, is designed to cut workers' comp costs by at least $4 billion a year. Of the total savings, about $400 million would result from cutting the amount drugstores are reimbursed by insurance carriers for filling injured workers' prescriptions.
The pharmacies' anger over price cuts could create significant problems for thousands of Californians injured on the job - and could complicate efforts by Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to squeeze more savings out of the workers' comp system.
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