Covid Pill Dispensing Costs Push Pharmacies to Call on Medicare

High-risk Covid-19 patients could see reduced access to Pfizer and Merck’s antiviral pills without a federal mandate that insurers pay pharmacies for dispensing the medications, industry groups and analysts say.

Pharmacy groups argue the Medicare agency should require minimum insurance payments for the tasks involved with distributing the at-home treatments, including conducting risk assessments and educating prescribers. Adequate payment is especially needed for small, independent pharmacies already struggling to meet testing and vaccination demands, but some health plans are doling out as little as $1, they say.

Pharmacists are getting “slapped in the face with really ridiculous payment rates,” said ...