Gov. Jeff Landy (R) signed into law SB 281 – ACT 514, legislation pharmacies supported that will enhance the Attorney General’s enforcement authority over PBM audits, effective August 1, 2024.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
NACDS will be joining the Massachusetts Chain Pharmacy Council and other members of the Patients Not PBMs coalition in support of PBM reform legislation at the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 11:00am. The event will include speakers from the pharmacy and patient communities. NACDS encourages members to send as many pharmacists and associates as possible.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Mike Sargent at 207-272-6435.
Medicaid Bulletin MMP 24-19 was issued on May 31 to announce updates to the Medicaid Provider Manual.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Department of Social Services MO HealthNet (Medicaid) Pharmacy Preferred Drug List (PDL) and Utilization Management Edits updates are available online.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
The Department of Health issued protocols to increase access at pharmacies for Medicaid patients to over-the-counter (OTC) emergency contraception, the OTC progestin-only birth control pill and the OTC home pregnancy tests.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
On July 1, 2024, Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Tailored Plans (or "Tailored Plans") are a new kind of Medicaid Managed Care health plan. Tailored Plans cover doctor visits, prescription drugs and services for mental health, substance use, intellectual/developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury in one plan. Tailored plans will launch statewide starting July 1, 2024. Approximately 200,000 beneficiaries will be enrolled into Tailored Plans. For more detailed information, please review the Fact Sheet: What Providers Need to Know Before Tailored Plan Launch.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The House Health Committee advanced SB 144, a priority bill for members. The legislation will more closely align the existing pharmacy immunization law with the PREP Act. Specifically, the bill permits pharmacists, interns and technicians to administer any vaccine to patients aged 5 years and older. We expect the House and the Senate to give final approval to the bill next week. If all goes as planned, it should be on the Governor’s desk before summer recess. The bill will be effective 90 days after it is signed.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
A coalition of pharmacy groups, including American Pharmacies, Inc., the American Pharmacists Association, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association and NACDS, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to once again decide whether states can regulate pharmacy benefit managers after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a lower court that upheld a law passed by Oklahoma in 2019.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
NACDS submitted a letter to the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) expressing concern about the inclusion of vaccines in PDAB affordability reviews and strongly encouraging the removal of vaccines as eligible for affordability reviews by the PDAB. Both the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act mandate that all vaccines recommended by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are covered without cost-sharing for all publicly and privately insured individuals.
Also in Oregon, the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) posted the agenda and meeting materials for its next meeting on June 26. Please register in advance of the meeting.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
