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Medicare Beneficiaries Get Drugs at Medicare Rates

Thu, 08/03/2000 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

Medicare recipients can now use any California pharmacy that accepts Medi-Cal and receive prescriptions at the Medi-Cal rate plus a 15 cent processing fee for each prescription, in a new program that went into effect on February 1, 2000. Senate Bill 393 enables Medicare recipients to obtain their prescription drugs at a cost no higher than Medi-Cal rates.

When a Medicare beneficiary has a prescription filled, he or she should present the pharmacy staff with the Medicare card. If the doctor phones the prescription in, ask the doctor to notify the pharmacy that the patient is a Medicare recipient. Beneficiaries should ask their regular pharmacies to put a note on their record stating that they are a Medicare recipient so that they will be charged the Medi-Cal rate for future prescriptions.

Medicare recipients can now use any California pharmacy that accepts Medi-Cal and receive prescriptions at the Medi-Cal rate plus a 15 cent processing fee for each prescription, in a new program that went into effect on February 1, 2000. Senate Bill 393 enables Medicare recipients to obtain their prescription drugs at a cost no higher than Medi-Cal rates.

When a Medicare beneficiary has a prescription filled, he or she should present the pharmacy staff with the Medicare card. If the doctor phones the prescription in, ask the doctor to notify the pharmacy that the patient is a Medicare recipient. Beneficiaries should ask their regular pharmacies to put a note on their record stating that they are a Medicare recipient so that they will be charged the Medi-Cal rate for future prescriptions.