UCSF Study: Medicaid Could Cut Costs With ‘Essential’ Rx

State Medicaid programs could reduce costs and provide patients with safer drugs by using the World Health Organization's "essential medicines list," according to a study by UC-San Francisco researchers. The study states that adopting the essential medicines list could lower the number of medications available for Medicaid beneficiaries but increase the efficacy and safety of the drugs. Researchers recommended the creation of a national medicines list that would involve a more transparent, consistent methodology for listing prescription drugs.

• "Study: States Cover Ineffective, Expensive Drugs" (Chong, "Quality of Life," Bay Citizen, 6/21).
• "Potential Medicaid Savings From World Health Organization's Essential Medicines List" (Rodak, Becker's Hospital Review, 6/21).
• "Medicaid Savings Possible With WHO Essential Medication List, Study Reveals" (McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 6/21).