Walgreens and Delaware reach Medicaid deal

Dover, Del. Delaware state officials said late Monday that they have reached a tentative Medicaid deal with Walgreen Co., according to the Delaware News Journal.

Walgreen Co. has reached an agreement in principle with the State of Delaware that would keep the pharmacy filling Medicaid prescriptions, said Rita Landgraf, state health and social services secretary.

Closing the deal now relies on the willingness of two industry groups to drop their lawsuits against the state, she said.

As part of the deal, the state would keep the $500,000 savings it received from reducing reimbursement rates to pharmacies, passed in the state budget recently to help close an $800 million deficit.

As of June, the savings would have been realized by reducing reimbursements on brand-name drugs only.

Under the deal, the state is restoring some of that reimbursement money for the brand-name drugs, but is making a cut to reimbursements for generics.

The lawsuit to stop the reimbursement changes had been filed in U.S. District Court by the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Landgraf said the lawyers for those groups were reviewing the deal at the close of business on Monday.