Brown wants Medicaid “lock in”
Columbus Dispatch – Although Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown doesn’t belong to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was the first to testify at this morning’s hearing on “Responding to the Prescription Drug Epidemic: Strategies for Reducing Abuse, Misuse, Diversion, and Fraud.”
Brown talked about the extent of the problem in his native state, especially southern Ohio. And he promoted a bill he introduced that he said would prevent prescription drug abusers from acquiring excess prescription drugs — which they may abuse or illegally-resell — by barring them from visiting multiple doctors and pharmacies. Currently 20 states have similar legislation.
“Under a Medicaid Lock-In program, states would identify high-risk prescription drug users — those who are receiving an excessive amount of prescription drugs or those who have been convicted of a drug-related offense,” Brown told the committee.
“These high-risk prescription drug users would be placed in the program and assigned to one physician and one pharmacy. It would mean no more doctor shopping or pharmacy hopping. States would also identify prescription drugs that are dispensed under Medicaid and that present a high risk of overutilization.”
