The administration of Gov. Jim Douglas is hoping to save $5 million by reducing a fee paid to Vermont pharmacists for every Medicaid prescription they fill.
But pharmacists say the plan to reduce the so-called "dispensation fee" by 4 percent could force some of the state’s 150 pharmacists out of business.
The proposed pharmacy cuts are part of a package of proposed cuts to Medicaid expenditures in the 2010 capital bill.
Finance Commissioner Jim Reardon says that by spreading the cuts across the Medicaid program, no single service or program will suffer a major blow.
But independent Montpelier pharmacist Rich Harvey says many pharmacies are operating on the edge and cuts could force some out of business.