AB 1430, legislation requiring pharmacies to dispense Schedule II prescription drugs in lockable vials, was held on the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File and will not advance.

Also in California, the following bills failed the policy/legislative deadline and have become two-year bills.  They may not be acted upon until January 2022.

  • AB 458, legislation creating the Affordable Prescription Drug Importation Program in the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA), under which the state would be a licensed wholesaler that imports prescription drugs for the exclusive purpose of dispensing those drugs to program participants upon federal approval for the importation program.
  • AB 933, legislation requiring an enrollee’s or insured’s defined cost-sharing for each prescription drug to be calculated at the point-of-sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to 90% of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the drug. It would also prohibit a health care service plan, health insurer, or a plan’s or insurer’s agents from publishing or otherwise revealing information regarding the actual amount of rebates the health care service plan or health insurer receives on a product-specific, manufacturer-specific, or pharmacy-specific basis.

Also in California, the Office of Administrative Law has approved the following proposals.  The amended and new regulations are effective July 1, 2021.

  • To amend sections 1711 and 1713, and add section 1715.1, in Article 2 of Division 17 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, regarding Automated Drug Delivery Systems.
  • To amend section 1707 in Article 2 of Division 17 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, regarding Waiver Requirements for Off-site Storage of Records.

Lastly in California, the Department of Health Care Services posted the User Administration Console (UAC) Registration Troubleshooting bulletin on the Medi-Cal Rx web portal.  Additionally, DHSC issued the Medi-Cal Rx User Administration Console (UAC) Application Role bulletin to prepare pharmacies and prescribers for the upcoming Medi-Cal Rx transition by providing information on the currently available applications and their functionalities within the Medi-Cal Rx Secured Provider Portal.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.