The Maryland Medicaid Pharmacy Program will be conducting a stakeholder meeting on Wednesday, June 13 in Baltimore to discuss the mandatory pharmacy cost of dispensing survey that will be conducted this summer. All providers that participate in the Maryland Medicaid Pharmacy Program are invited to attend.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-837-4195.
On May 15, the House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse held a hearing focused on the prescription monitoring program and the role of healthcare professionals in preventing overutilization and diversion of addictive prescription drugs. This was one of a series of interim committee hearings studying how to best address the opioid abuse problem. Kroger pharmacist Jeff Loesch led the pharmacy panel educating lawmakers on the NARxCHECK program, and pharmacist Jeremy Ashley with Brookshire Grocery Company discussed mandatory e-prescribing of controlled substances. 5.
Also in Texas…The Health and Human Services Vendor Drug Program announced that there will be a one-day delay in reimbursement payments for Medicaid fee-for-service pharmacy providers, Children with Special Health Care Needs Services Program and Kidney Health Care Program because of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 28. Claims submitted between Friday, May 18 and Thursday, May 24 will be paid Tuesday, May 29, with deposits available Thursday, May 31. Claims submitted on or after Thursday, May 24 will resume on the regular cycle.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed into law SB 175, that proposes to establish a program to allow wholesale importation of prescription drugs from Canada into the state, create a bulk purchasing program for prescriptions drugs through the Department of Health, require manufacturers to provide notice before introducing new, high-cost drugs to the market and direct an evaluation of the overall impact of drugs costs on health insurance premiums. In order for the program to go into effect, Vermont will need federal waivers, a plan design, approval from state’s Agency of Human Service and then additional approval by the Legislature, no earlier than 2019, with a new fee to fund the operational costs prior to implementation. Since Vermont has no funding obligations, National Academy for State Health Policy has offered to fund the design of the template for the proposed system, estimated at $200,000 to $800,000. Currently, federal law generally prohibits commercial importation of drugs from Canada unless the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary certifies to Congress that such a commercial importation program poses no additional risk to the public’s health and safety and results in a significant reduction in the cost of drugs to the American consumer.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
To fill a vacancy on the 13-member Board of Pharmacy, Gov. Jerry Brown, Jr. (D) appointed Shirley Kim of Los Angeles as a public member. Kim has been an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP since 2016. She earned her law degree at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
Also in California…New officers were elected at the May 2 Board of Pharmacy meeting. Serving as president is independent pharmacist Victor Law. Public member Greg Lippe is now the vice president and hospital pharmacist Allen Schaad was re-elected to serve as treasurer.
Also in California…NACDS and the California Retailers Association submitted a joint letter to legislators outlining their position on statewide drug and/or sharps take back legislation (SB 212 & AB 444). The associations stated their support for a statewide framework funded by manufacturers. They also affirmed that it is essential that pharmacies’ participation be voluntary with a variety of disposal options that they can offer to meet local convenience thresholds based on the needs of their communities.
Also in California…AB 2741, sponsored by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D), passed the Assembly 53-0. If enacted, this legislation would limit doctors from prescribing more than five days’ worth of opioid drugs to minors and includes certain exemptions for situations such as medical emergencies, hospice care and other instances where doctors deem a longer prescription medically necessary. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Lastly in California…On May 9, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services passed a $1 billion healthcare spending proposal on a party-line vote. The $1 billion proposal allocates $330 million to expand coverage in the Medi-Cal program, $50 million to increase healthcare cost transparency, $114 million to expand the healthcare workforce and $500-$550 million to provide healthcare premium assistance.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
The state’s Human Services Department issued “Letter of Direction #80—Repeal & Replace“, explaining the Medicaid managed care organization’s (MCO’s) new reimbursement policies.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
On May 8, Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed into law HB 2931, legislation mandating e-prescribing for Schedules II-V controlled substances prescriptions by Wednesday, January 1, 2020.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
HB 5038, sponsored by Rep. Todd Atwater (R), was signed by Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on May 3 and effective immediately. Among the various provisions, this measure prohibits a pharmacy benefits manager from prohibiting a pharmacist or pharmacy from providing an insured information on the amount of the insured’s cost share for a prescribed drug.
Also in South Carolina… HB 4488, sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Henderson (R), was signed by Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on May 3 and effective immediately. This measure allows a coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner or deputy medical examiner who is involved in a specific inquiry into the cause and manner of death of a person to have access to data in the prescription monitoring program.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) issued a notice to all Medicaid providers about changes to the prescription drug benefit concerning opioids, including an early refill threshold and supply limits, targeted for implementation on Friday, June 1 and Wednesday, August 1, respectively. The DSS notice also includes additional policy changes and implementation timelines.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
On May 3, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) signed into law HB 1993. The newly enacted law requires that on or after Wednesday, January 1, 2020, prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances in the state of Tennessee must be issued as an electronic prescription from the person issuing the prescription to a pharmacy. The name, address and telephone number of the collaborating physician of an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant shall be included on the electronic prescription. The measure does exclude certain types of prescriptions.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.