HARRISBURG, Pa., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Director Rosemarie B. Greco today announced a new initiative in the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform to centralize the Commonwealth's prescription drug policies and the administrative functions of all of its pharmacy programs.
"Governor Rendell is committed to providing quality health-care benefits to all Pennsylvanians," Greco said. "And we are committed to eliminating inefficiencies and redundancies in the Commonwealth's pharmacy programs and reducing the $3 billion that the Commonwealth spends annually on prescription drugs. This project will help us meet both of those objectives. It will make sure we have consumer-focused prescription drug policies and maximize cost savings."
The Commonwealth Pharmacy Policy and Administration Project is believed to be the first state program to centralize pharmacy policy and administration. The project is an outgrowth of the work started in March 2003 by the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform, through its Medication Task Force, and it will begin to implement the comprehensive recommendations made by GOHCR to the Governor.
Greco said Thomas Snedden and Susan L. Anderson, who led the task force, would continue as co-directors of the project. Snedden is director of Pennsylvania's PACE program and will continue in that capacity as he co- directs the project. Anderson is the chief of staff of the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform and, in addition to leading the pharmacy review, has recently been the Governor's representative in negotiations about the future of MCP Hospital in Philadelphia. They will report directly to Greco.
After analyzing the work of the task force, the GOHCR concluded that the only way to improve quality, increase efficiency and generate significant cost savings was centralization. The project will:
-- Further develop uniform policies and procedures;
-- Negotiate prices, fees and rebates;
-- Oversee the procurement of prescription drugs for the programs that
purchase drugs directly from the manufacturer;
-- Establish all necessary administrative functions;
-- Coordinate the collection, analysis and dissemination of data;
-- Act as a clearinghouse of knowledge and technical expertise; and
-- Monitor national trends and best practices in other states.
Pennsylvania state government currently administers 25 pharmacy reimbursement benefit programs, through nine state agencies, to nearly 2.1 million Pennsylvanians. The total annual prescription drug expenditure in 2003 was $2.7 billion, which represents more than 30 percent of all prescription drugs dispensed at retail outlets in Pennsylvania. Of that amount, about $60 million is purchased directly from drug manufacturers and the rest is reimbursements to pharmacies. The Department of Public Welfare is the largest purchaser, spending more than $1.9 billion annually on medications, followed
by PACE at $435 million and the Office of Administration at $264 million for active and retired employees and their dependents.
CONTACT: Amy Kelchner,
(717)783-1116
Pennsylvania Governor's Office of Health Care ReformCONTACT: Amy Kelchner of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,+1-717-783-1116
Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/
