Medicaid recipients displaced by tornadoes can get emergency 30-day refills of prescriptions

Kentuckians on Medicaid who were displaced by last week's storms can get a 30-day supply of needed medicine from their pharmacy, the Department of Medicaid Services announced yesterday.

The right to receive an emergency refill applies to residents living in Ballard, Bath, Carroll, Campbell, Grant, Grayson, Hardin, Johnson, Kenton, Laurel, Lawrence, McCracken, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Owsley, Pendleton, Rowan, Russell and Trimble counties. Those counties have declared a state of emergency.

The state's four managed-care organizations are informing pharmacies of the policy, which was part of an executive order signed by Gov. Steve Beshear last weekend. Medicaid recipients who are not enrolled with an MCO can also receive replacement medications at their pharmacy. Co-payments will be waived.

"Many Kentuckians depend on regular maintenance medications, like blood pressure pills, and skipping a few days could cause unnecessary hardship or possible poor health outcomes for some citizens," Beshear said. "This order will allow people to contact a pharmacist to restore their regular medications." (Read more)