Ask Mike - Father being forced to use a specific pharmacy

Hi Mike,

Can an assisted living facility force my father to use a specific pharmacy? I understand that his medications must be bubble wrapped, but if another local pharmacy will provide this service as a courtesy, are we required to use 'their' pharmacy that charges 5 times as much? We are in Kansas.

Thanks,

No Choice

Dear No Choice,

Thanks for writing. You want to know if an assisted living facility (ALF) can force your father to use a certain pharmacy. Your father's medications need to be bubble wrapped. You have found a pharmacy that will do it for free, but the ALF requires "their" pharmacy to be used at 5 times the cost.

Your father should have freedom of choice of providers for services that the ALF doesn't provide directly pursuant to the service contract your father signed. If Medicaid pays for the ALF, then Medicaid definitely has specific freedom of choice of provider rules. Review the contract. Does it cover any agreement related to using a particular pharmacy? If not, then they shouldn't have the right to require that a particular pharmacy be used.

You could contact the state Medicaid agency and ask about this. See below for instructions to find contact information. "Medicaid Agency" will top the list of agencies after you follow all of the instructions.

You may need advocacy assistance. Centers for Independent Living (CIL), Aging and Disability Resource Centers and Protection and Advocacy Agencies are all candidates for providing advocacy assistance with this issue. Further, the state Long Term Care Ombudsman may also be able to help. Just ask any of these other agencies for a referral or contact information.

From our State Information page click on Agencies Related to PAS. Click on the map of Kansas when the USA map comes up. Click on the various selection mentioned above and contact them asking for assistance with your issue.

Good luck!

Mike Oxford

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