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Texas

NACDS attended the Dallas County Medical Society’s 139th Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony at the Frontiers of Flights Museum on April 6th honoring chain pharmacies and pharmacists from Kroger Health and Albertsons/ Randall’s/Tom Thumb for their efforts at the beginning of the pandemic providing 20,000 COVID-19 vaccines administered to physicians who are not affiliated with a major health or hospital systems and their frontline office staff. Accepting the awards for chain pharmacies were Jeff Loesch, PharmD with The Kroger Company, and Jennifer Golden, PharmD with Albertsons Companies. This successful collaborative effort eventually led to multiple other opportunities throughout the pandemic for more chain pharmacies to work directly in Collin, Dallas, Denton Grayson, and Tarrant County Health Departments to administer COVID vaccines and tests.

People in the photos:
Dr. Philip Huang, Director, Health Authority, Dallas County Health, and Human Services Department
Jon Roth, CEO, Dallas County Medical Society
Jeff Loesch, PharmD, CHC
Jill Lester, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP
Jennifer Golden, RPh.
Emad Besslay, MPharm

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

2022-04-08T12:01:13-04:00April 8, 2022|Texas|

Utah

On March 23, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed HB 80, allowing for Medicaid reimbursement for diabetes prevention services including an additional appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services in Fiscal Year 2022-2023. Beginning July 1, 2022, Medicaid will reimburse a provider for an enrollee’s participation in the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program under certain conditions.

Also in Utah, On March 24, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) also signed SB 3, that includes a block grant in the amount of $500,000 for alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, reduction, cessation, and control programs or for emergent disease control and prevention needs for the Department of Health’s Disease Control and Prevention.

Finally in Utah, on March 24, Gov. Cox signed SB 236, allows a therapeutic equivalent to be dispensed for needles or other supplies for treating diabetes and allows a pharmacist to dispense up to a 100-day supply of insulin with a valid prescription among its various provisions.

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

2022-04-08T11:49:56-04:00April 8, 2022|Utah|

Wyoming

On March 7, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed SF 24 (Chapter Number 7), authorizing the administration of immunizations by pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns. It also eliminates the statutory definition of “direct” supervision requirements for pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns, leaving the “supervision” requirements to be further specified by the Board of Pharmacy.

Also in Wyoming, on March 15, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed SF 101 (Chapter Number 69), permitting pharmacists to prescribe an opiate antagonist in accordance with the Emergency Administration Medical Treatment Act. It also directs the Board of Pharmacy, in cooperation with the Board of Medicine, to adopt rules delineating the requirements a pharmacist must need to prescribe an epinephrine auto-injector.

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

2022-04-08T11:49:00-04:00April 8, 2022|Wyoming|

Alabama

As Alabama Medicaid continues to monitor the COVID-19 national emergency in Alabama, Medicaid is adding procedure codes for coverage. Providers may submit claims for dates of service on or after the effective dates for each procedure code as listed here. Providers may find the reimbursement rates for the COVID-19 testing procedure codes on Medicaid’s website at www.Medicaid.Alabama.gov by selecting Fee Schedules under the Providers tab.

Also in Alabama, effective January 1, 2020, all newly registered technicians are required to complete a Board approved training program within six (6) months of the registration. Technicians with Board approved training completed, PTCB or CPhT certifications, or registered prior to January 1, 2020, will be reflected as compliant with the training requirement on the technicians’ Board of Pharmacy website profile.

To view this data:

  1. Go to albop.com
  2. Click Online Services
  3. Choose “Individual Verification” from the dropdown menu
  4. Input the technician registration number or name of the technician and enter the verification code displayed and click Search
  5. Identify the technician and choose the Print option to view the full license details including training information for technicians.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

2021-12-03T09:51:45-05:00December 3, 2021|Alabama|

Alaska

The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development cut the initial registration and biennial renewal fees for the prescription drug monitoring program-controlled substance prescription database to $0 effective December 23, 2021.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

2021-12-03T09:50:35-05:00December 3, 2021|Alaska|

Arkansas

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is convening a Special Session of the Legislature on Tuesday, December 6th to deal with income tax reform and repeal of the Insulin Rebate law (Act 1104/HB 1709).

Also in Arkansas, the Department of Health final rules amending the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to provide for an alternate method of reporting and allow the department to request prescription copies from dispensers for evaluation go into effect on December 3, 2021.

Finally in Arkansas. The Division of Medical Services adopted a rule revising the rate methodology and reimbursement rates for covered long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) that went into effect on December 1, 2021.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

2021-12-03T09:46:54-05:00December 3, 2021|Arkansas|

California

The Medi-Cal Rx Monthly Bulletin for December has been posted. Below is an outline of this month’s updates. As a reminder, Medi-Cal Rx is schedule to be implemented effective January 1, 2021.

  1. Changes to the Contract Drugs List (CDL), Effective December 1, 2021
  2. Changes to the Contract Drugs List (CDL) – Over the Counter Drugs, Effective December 1, 2021
  3. Changes to the Family PACT Pharmacy Formulary, Effective December 1, 2021
  4. Medi-Cal Rx Medical Supplies Updates
  5. Reimbursement for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Claims
  6. Updates to the Medi-Cal Rx Provider Manual
  7. Adult Vaccination Administration Fee: Pharmacy Claims and Reimbursement
  8. Maximum Allowable Ingredient Cost (MAIC) 30-Day Pharmacy Provider Notice
  9. 45-Day Pharmacy Provider Notice
  10. Contract Drugs List (CDL) Flyer
  11. Medi-Cal Rx Provider Training Details
  12. Registering Multiple NPIs in UAC
  13. UAC Registration and Sign-In Troubleshooting
  14. UAC Registration Reminders and Helpful Tips
  15. Introducing the Medi-Cal Rx Education and Outreach Team
  16. Prescriber Training Checklist
  17. Pharmacy Training Checklist

Also in California, NACDS submitted comments to the Board of Pharmacy in support of the proposed rule revising 16 CCR §1746.4 pertaining to requirements for notification to patients’ primary care provider following vaccine administration. In modifying the notification provisions of the rule to apply only when requested by a patient, the proposed rule change would reduce the administrative burden of preparing and forwarding potentially redundant information that is not always needed or desired by every primary care provider, especially considering that pharmacies also report administered vaccines to the California Immunization Registry. Considering pharmacist and pharmacy workload demands having amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, eliminating unnecessary administrative requirements free up pharmacy personnel to focus on meeting public demand for increased pharmacy services.

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

2021-12-03T12:15:42-05:00December 3, 2021|California|

Colorado

The Department of Regulatory agencies (DORA) announced that the Board of Pharmacy, Medical Board, and Board of Nursing will hold a virtual Joint Stakeholder Meeting on December 20th seeking input on whether to develop a new statewide protocol for Statin Therapy within the scope of Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreements, as allowed per section 12-280-601(1), C.R.S., and Rule 17.00.00. This proposed protocol would allow pharmacists to provide evidence-based health-care services to increase access to a well-established medical standard of care. Written comments must be submitted by December 17, 2021. Oral comments will be taken from participants who are present via webinar.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

2021-12-03T09:37:09-05:00December 3, 2021|Colorado|

Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis joined by Florida Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson to sign legislation that will protect Floridians from losing their jobs due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and protect parents’ rights to make healthcare decisions for students. The bills were passed through a Special Session of the Florida Legislature and are effective upon the Governor’s signature. The legislation signed today is the strongest anti-mandate action taken by any state in the nation. Read about the legislation HERE.

Also in Florida, Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller issued the following statement in support of Florida’s challenge against the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule mandating that health care workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine:

“The recent CMS rule issued by Biden Administration will not only damage our stretched health care industry but impact our most vulnerable and their ability to receive the health care they need,” said Secretary Simone Marstiller. “Tying Medicare and Medicaid funding to a vaccination mandate – funding that pays for medical care for elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals – is a blatant overreach of power that must be challenged. Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Moody, Florida is doing just that, to protect Florida jobs, ensure access to care, and empower individuals in making personal health care decisions for themselves and their families.”

Finally in Florida, the Florida HIE will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday, December 7th at 12:00pm EST. Learn about how the Encounter Notification Service (ENS) provides benefits to providers and patients across Florida. You may register here.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.

2021-12-03T12:17:54-05:00December 3, 2021|Florida|

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