Medicaid could cut costs, provide better meds, UCSF School of Pharmacy researchers find

A study by researchers with the UCSF School of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy finds that the Medicaid program is likely paying far more than necessary for medications and not offering patients the most effective ones available. The study, to be published in the American Journal of Public Health and posted online June 16, 2011, compared the Medicaid program’s Preferred Drug Lists in 40 states against the World Health Organization’s 2009 Essential Medicines List — an evidence-based list of safe and effective medications. It found that drugs automatically paid for by state-run Medicaid programs vary widely, with few consistent rationales for their selection, including cost, safety, or effectiveness.

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U.S. Medicaid Drug Lists Cost More, Deliver Less