BALTIMORE – The end of what has become a decades long battle around fair reimbursement for Medicaid programs and pharmacy appears to be in sight.

On Thursday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the Covered Outpatient Drugs final rule with comment that addresses key areas of Medicaid drug reimbursement and changes made to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by the Affordable Care Act. According to a fact sheet published by CMS, this final rule assists states and the federal government in managing drug costs, establishes the long term framework for implementation of the Medicaid drug rebate program and creates a more fair reimbursement system for Medicaid programs and pharmacies.

“This is the latest chapter in a decade-long saga that has required NACDS and our allies to defend pharmacy patient care against the potentially devastating cuts of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 – which was enacted in 2006 – and the regulations that were proposed to implement it in 2007,” stated Steven Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Thursday evening. “We are at this point today because NACDS and our allies have waged a pro-patient and pro-pharmacy effort at the federal and state levels, and in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. We have advocated for policies that are appropriate from the perspectives of good government and of high quality, accessible patient care,” he said.