State slashes drug coverage for small companies

BALTIMORE -- About 450,000 Marylanders could lose prescription drug coverage due to a decision by state regulators to eliminate the requirement for drug coverage in health insurance policies offered by small employers.

The new plan, called PharmFlex, eliminates required coverage for brand name medications and increases the deductible employees must pay for generic drugs from $250 to $2,500 for an individual. Employees must also pay 75 percent of the generic drug price.

"We're trying to offer a core benefit that allows flexibility and some stability for the next five years so we don't have to keep revisiting it," said Rex W....