Just State spending alone supports lots of Pharmacies

State agency drug bills at $407 million for one year

State agencies combined to spend more than $407 million on prescription drugs in the 2006-07 budget year, the acting state pharmaceutical advocate told legislators Tuesday.

In a report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, Shana Phares provided an agency-by-agency breakdown of state spending on prescription drugs.

The top spender was the Public Employees Insurance Agency, at $189.9 million, followed closely by the Bureau of Medical Services, which spent $180.7 million for prescription drugs for Medicaid recipients.

Other major expenditures were for the Children's Health Insurance Program, at $7.79 million; the Bureau for Public Health, $6.73 million; Bureau of Behavioral Health, $2.9 million; Division of Corrections, $1.41 million; and the Regional Jail Authority, $855,335.

In total, Phares said, state spending on pharmaceuticals was $407,811,559.

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