SB 827, legislation by pharmacist Sen. Standridge(R) authorizes pharmacists to prescribe nonprescription drugs for the purposes of extemporaneous compounding passed the Senate by 44-0 and was referred to the House or Representatives.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Medicaid published the following bulletins related to the Managed Care Program:
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Brian Clark, a South Carolina pharmacist with experience in a broad range of pharmacy roles as well as service in state and national professional associations, has been named chief executive officer of the South Carolina Pharmacy Association effective April 1. Clark, director of operations at Riley’s Drugs in Lexington, SC, will lead the association that serves as the public face and voice of all sectors of the state’s pharmacy community, from students and technicians to pharmacists.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
TennCare has contracted with Mercer Government Human Services Consulting to conduct a professional cost of dispensing survey and a survey of acquisition cost data. Both surveys will begin on April 3. Mercer will conduct a technical online seminar on March 20 at 10am CT to discuss both surveys and answer provider questions. Join the online seminar at this link with passcode 030511.
Also in Tennessee, the recent TennCare issue regarding AAAC rate updates has been resolved. Please review this document and contact tenncare_inquiry@optum.com with any questions.
Finally, to help TennCare prescribers and providers, prior authorization (PA) requirements can be bypassed for certain medications when specific medical conditions exist. Those specific medications and diagnoses are on the Appropriate Diagnosis for PA Bypass document. Prescribers are encouraged to include the applicable diagnosis code on written prescriptions for inclusion on the electronic pharmacy claim. The submitted claim should include a Diagnosis Code Qualifier (Field # 492- WE) of “02,” indicating ICD-10, as well as the appropriate Diagnosis Code (Field # 424-DO). Note: A list of the preferred agents and the clinical criteria can also be found at www.optumrx.com/oe_tenncare/landing.
Please contact OptumRx Provider Liaison Ginger Stoves (ginger.stoves@optum.com) if you have additional questions. Ginger is the primary contact for Middle Tennessee, and the temporary primary contact for East and West Tennessee.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The deadline to file bills was Friday, March 10th.
Also in Texas, Rep. Julie Johnson (D) filed HB 3774, legislation providing pharmacists with liability protections when dispensing certain medications that could be used for an abortion.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Pharmacy had several important victories in the 2023 Legislative Session that adjourned last week. The Legislature approved several priority pharmacy bills that are now on Governor Justice’s desk for signing. These include SB 345, which gives legislative approval for the PBM Auditing Rule pursuant to the passage of HB 4112 of last session. HB 2754 which adopts PREP Act immunization authority for both pharmacists and technicians at age 3 and deletes the long-standing prescription requirement for childhood vaccines. Lastly, SB 361, an omnibus Rules package that increases the pharmacy technician ratio from 1:4 to 1:6. The same bill also includes a final rule modernizing collaborative practice agreements to allow for population-based care.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Reminder, Alabama Administrative Rule 420-4-1-.04 requires pharmacists to report to the State Health Officer or designee the dispensing of anti-tuberculosis medications and dispensing of antiretroviral medications to an infant.
Also in Alabama, all previously published expiration dates related to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) are once again extended by the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The new expiration date is the earlier of November 30, 2022, the conclusion of the COVID-19 national emergency, or any expiration date noticed by the Alabama Medicaid Agency through a subsequent ALERT.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Department of Health Care Services posted the following alerts and weekly notices on the Medi-Cal Rx Web Portal.
Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy issued its Annual Notice of Availability of Precedential Decisions Index. The index and the text of the precedential decisions are available on the Board’s webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
Patients and pharmacies in the Commonwealth took a giant leap forward this week when Anthem announced they will be enrolling pharmacists as network providers. The move is a result of the enactment of a law that provides for pharmacy payment parity; HB 48 of 2021 required Kentucky health plans to reimburse pharmacists for services within a pharmacist’s scope of practice that are otherwise covered by the plan, if provided by another healthcare provider. Coupled with a pharmacist’s current authority to provide more than a dozen clinical services under Board of Pharmacy Protocols, Anthem members will have widespread convenient access to treatment at pharmacies for ailments such as flu, strep and tobacco cessation. Pharmacies interested in enrolling in the network should contact kyprovidercontracting@anthem.com. For more information, please see the Kentucky Pharmacists Association’s (KPhA’s) latest news release. NACDS applauds KPhA for its work with Anthem and its leadership in our joint support for HB 48.
Also in Kentucky, Medicaid has proposed a rule that may make it easier for pharmacies to provide vaccine services to kids with Medicaid coverage. The rule change eliminates the requirement to use Vaccines for Children (VFC) stock and strikes current language that states Medicaid will not reimburse for the cost of any vaccine if already available through the VFC program. NACDS interprets this to mean that pharmacies do not have to be enrolled in VFC to immunize and be reimbursed for Medicaid-covered kids. NACDS is seeking member feedback to determine whether this change would be significant to your vaccination efforts. Please review this rule and send Jill McCormack your comments by November 18.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.