Drug Contract Fight Rages

The state is being accused of stalling the award for a state prescription drug contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Efforts to streamline the state’s prescription drug purchasing program remain stuck in legal limbo, according to the Florida Current. Three years ago, the state wanted to award a new contract to combine the purchasing of drugs for the state’s health clinics, prisons and other agencies. But a lawsuit over the bids from Minnesota Multistate Contracting Alliance for Pharmacy and Cooperative Services of Florida leaves the issue unresolved. A lobbyist for CSF says the state “dragged its feet” in awarding the contract to favoring the multistate group. In 2009, Health News Florida reported that consolidating drug purchases could save the state more than $30 million in the first year. In 2008, five state agencies spent $232 million on prescription drugs.