The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) includes COVID-19 at-home test kits as a Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Healthy Texas Women (HTW), Kidney Health Care (KHC), and Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) pharmacy benefit effective January 3, 2022, for fee-for-service (FFS), and no later than January 17, 2022, for managed care. An adjudicated pharmacy claim is required for reimbursement of a COVID-19 at-home test. Clients may obtain COVID-19 at-home test kits from a Medicaid-enrolled retail pharmacy with or without a prescription from a prescribing provider.
Also in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made several appointments to the Board of Pharmacy: Ian Shaw, a Dallas attorney will serve as a new public member, and pharmacists Suzette Tijerina and Jenny Yoakum were reappointed to serve a six-year term.
Also in Texas, the Health and Human Services Commission’s Department of State Health Services is hosting weekly provider webinars on Tuesdays to share the latest COVID-19 vaccine information on ordering, administration, and reporting guidelines.
- Tuesday, January 11, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here.
- Tuesday, January 18, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here.
- Tuesday, January 25, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here.
Finally in Texas, the Board of Pharmacy published two proposed rules in the Texas Register on 12/24/2021: (1) conforms to federal standards by extending the time period for pharmacists to dispense prescription drug orders for Schedule II controlled substances issued by an out-of-state practitioner to the end of the 30th day after the date the prescription is issued; and (2) determines the validity of prescriptions issued as a result of teledentistry dental services or telemedicine dental services. Comments are due to the TSBP by January 24, 2022.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.