September-October 2021
Effective January 1, 2022, L.A. Care Cal MediConnect members can get up to a 100-day supply at one time for many prescription drugs. The extended supply of medications can be filled at certain network retail pharmacies or delivered directly to a member’s home via mail order pharmacy services. Switching your patient’s prescription to a greater day supply has shown to increase medication adherence.1,2
Poor medication adherence can greatly increase morbidity and mortality, accounting for more than 125,000 deaths and 10% of all hospitalizations annually in the U.S.3 By helping our members to become more adherent, you can optimize patient health outcomes and the performance on medication adherence measures as part of the Value Initiative for IPA Performance and Pay-for-Performance (VIIP + P4P) for patients on non-insulin diabetes medications, renin-angiotensin system antagonists (RASA), and statins. Based on CMS’s definition of proportion of days covered (PDC), patients will need at least 80% of their medications covered throughout the year to be considered adherent.
By utilizing 100-day supply, members will only need to fill their medications 3 times a year instead of 4 or more times using 90-day supply or less. Members who are using an extended day supply will also avoid additional trips to the pharmacy as it is especially important for members with chronic conditions to avoid crowded places during the pandemic. For additional information on obtaining an extended supply of prescription drugs for any member, please call L.A. Care Cal MediConnect Plan Provider Information at 1.866.LACARE6 (1.866.522.2736), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays.
1. Taitel M, Fensterheim L, Kirkham H, Sekula R, Duncan I. Medication days’ supply, adherence, wastage, and cost among chronic patients in Medicaid. Medicare Medicaid Res Rev. 2012;2(3):mmrr.002.03.a04.
2. Rymer JA, Fonseca E, Bhandary DD, Kumar D, Khan ND, Wang TY. Difference in medication adherence between patients prescribed a 30‐day versus 90‐day supply after acute myocardial infarction. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2021;10(1):e016215.
3. McGuire M, Iuga. Adherence and health care costs. RMHP. Published online February 2014:35.