Bill seeks to reverse Aetna’s limits on Illinois’ Medicaid pharmacies

Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) is proposing a bill to let low-income patients get prescriptions from their preferred pharmacies, after Aetna dropped Walgreens from its Illinois Medicaid plan. Ford’s bill calls for requiring the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) to allow Medicaid recipients to fill their prescriptions from the pharmacy of their choice and prevent HFS from contracting with a managed care organization that limits access to pharmacies. Aetna said it would drop Walgreens from its Aetna Better Health of Illinois pharmacy network, which would affect approximately 400,000 residents in the state. The Aetna Medicaid plan informed its managed care members they must use CVS pharmacies or a limited number of smaller independent pharmacies starting on December 1, 2020.