Prescription drugs are both central to effective health care and a major driver of spending in the Medicaid program, accounting for more than $19 billion in Medicaid spending in 2006. This paper puts forward state and federal approaches to help manage prescription drugs efficiently and ensure that Medicaid gets the best possible price on prescription drugs while maintaining access to needed drugs for Medicaid beneficiaries.

This issue brief was released as part of CCF’s Strengthening Medicaid project, which develops fresh ideas to strengthen the Medicaid program and to engage policymakers and stakeholders at the state and federal levels in discussion about how these ideas might be translated into policies.