Michael Silber – Page 106

Virginia

Companion bills that would allow pharmacists to test and treat for flu, COVID, strep and UTIs (urinary tract infections) under a statewide Board of Pharmacy protocol have passed their Chambers of origin and met the bill crossover deadline, making them eligible to continue to advance. HB 2274 passed the House by a 57-42 vote, while the Senate unanimously adopted SB 948. passed the Senate unanimously. They now go to committees in the opposite chamber for consideration. NACDS continues to collaborate with members and in-state partners to advance these bills that are the final piece in updating Virginia’s law to match the PREP Act. NACDS is also advocating for SB 1418, which would strengthen the Medicaid reimbursement provisions for pharmacy-based services. This bill passed the Senate and will now be heard in the House.

Also in Virginia, Medicaid has posted a draft bulletin detailing upcoming changes that will rebrand its Fee-for-service (FFS) and managed care programs as Cardinal Care and unify the Medallion 4.0 and Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (CCC Plus) managed care programs under a single managed care contract, pending approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The bulletin states that the changes will follow a strategic, phased-in implementation, beginning January 1, 2023, and will be fully operational by July 1, 2023. Comments on the draft bulletin are due March 15.

Finally, in Virginia, the Board of Pharmacy has published a notice outlining recent drug scheduling changes.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Michael Silber2023-02-10T09:44:01-05:00February 10, 2023|Virginia|

Washington

In advance of the February 7 hearing in the Senate Committee on Health and Long Term Care on PBM reform, SB 5213, NACDS registered in support and urged chain members to do so as well. The bill is awaiting further action in Executive Session and must be reported out of the committee of origin by February 17. Because there is a modest fiscal note, it will be sent to the Ways and Means Committee. House companion bill is HB 1253.

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

Michael Silber2023-02-10T09:43:28-05:00February 10, 2023|Washington|

West Virginia

NACDS continues to work on priority issues in West Virginia. HB 2754, that would make the pharmacy immunization allowances from the federal PREP Act permanent in state law, passed the House and is now in the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee. HB 2723, now included in a Senate Rules package, authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate a rule increasing the pharmacy technician ratio from 1:4 to 1:6. NACDS is also tracking a bill that would provide legislative approval of the PBM rule pursuant to the passage of HB 2263 of 2021. The language is now engrossed in Committee Substitute SB 345 which has passed the Senate and been sent to the House.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Michael Silber2023-02-10T09:42:53-05:00February 10, 2023|West Virginia|

California

The Department of Health Care Services posted the following alerts and weekly notices on the Medi-Cal Rx Web Portal. Please note the reinstatement resources and information below.

Enteral Nutrition Updates to the List of Covered Enteral Nutrition Products, Effective January 1, 2023 (January 26)
Age Restrictions on Psychotropics – System Issue Resolved (January 25)
NCPDP Reject Code 83 – Duplicate Paid/Captured Claim (January 24)
30-day Countdown – Reinstatement of Prior Authorization Requirements for 47 Drug Classes Including Medical Supplies (January 24)
Claims Processing Reminders for Medicare Medi-Cal Plans (January 20)
Age Restrictions on Psychotropics System Issue (January 20)
Medi-Cal Rx Weekly Wrap-up for January 13-19 (January 20)
Reinstatement Spotlight (January 20)
Medical Supplies: How to Prepare for Retirement of the Transition Policy (January 19)
Reminder: Clear Browser Cache (January 18)
Update on Age Restrictions of Psychotropics (January 17)
Reinstatement Spotlight (January 13)
Medi-Cal Rx Weekly Wrap-up for January 6-12 (January 13)

Also in California, Medi-Cal posted the following:

Update: Incontinence Product List Medi-Cal Benefit (January 24)
Continuity of Care for Transitioning Medi-Cal Members (January 13)
Medi-Cal Update – Pharmacy – January 2023 – Bulletin 1031 (January 13)
Medi-Cal Update – Durable Medical Equipment and Medical Supplies – January 2023 – Bulleting 568 (January 13)

Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy posted the agenda and the following meeting materials for the Standard of Care Ad Hoc Committee meeting on February 1.

Finally in California, the Board of Pharmacy posted the January 2023 issue of “The Script”, the board’s newsletter. This issue includes the following:

New pharmacy laws for 2023.
Governor announced end to declared state of emergency related to COVID-19.
Statewide program for disposal of sharps waste.
USP revised chapters 795 and 797.
Renew HSP and DRM licenses online.
FDA offers online resources to assist outsourcers and compounders.
The Board welcomes two members.
Summaries of disciplinary actions ordered July 1 through December 30, 2022.

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:16:42-05:00January 27, 2023|California|

Florida

Based on the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow retail pharmacies to dispense Mifepristone, the Agency for Health Care Administration issued this alert to remind providers that they must continue to comply with Florida laws that govern the performance of abortions.

Two statutes are relevant here. First, section 390.0111(2), Florida Statutes, provides that “[n]o termination of pregnancy shall be performed at any time except by a [licensed] physician.”

Second, section 797.03(1), Florida Statutes, states that “[i]t is unlawful for any person to perform or assist in performing an abortion on a person, except in an emergency care situation, other than in a validly licensed hospital or abortion clinic or in a physician’s office.” Willfully violating these provisions could result in criminal penalties. See 390.0111(10)(a), Florida Statutes, and 797.03(4), Florida Statutes.

The Agency will refer to local law enforcement any evidence of criminal activity that it discovers in its survey of providers.

Also in Florida, the House Health and Human Services Committee held a meeting on January 24 to discuss pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and the role they play in Florida’s healthcare delivery system. House Health and Human Services Committee Chair Randy Fine (R) indicated this was the first of several more meetings to come on the issue.

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:15:40-05:00January 27, 2023|Florida|

Idaho

The State Board of Pharmacy issued a reminder to ensure that the delegates assigned by controlled substance (CS) registrants are still active and accurate. The delegate review is to ensure that delegate users of the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) are still authorized to perform searches on their supervisor’s behalf. Supervisors are responsible for activities performed within the system by their delegate(s). Supervisors may perform the delegate review by doing the following:

Log in to your Idaho PDMP account.
From your dashboard click “View All Delegates.”
Review delegates listed.
If the delegates are correct, take no further action. If a delegate should be changed, continue to step five.
Select any delegate to remove.
Click on “Remove.”
Click on “Reject.”
Repeat steps five, six, and seven until all unwanted delegates have been removed from the Delegate Management view.

Also in Idaho, the State Board of Pharmacy offers a variety of Idaho PDMP (AWARxE) Resources on the Board’s website for prescribers and pharmacists.

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:14:53-05:00January 27, 2023|Idaho|

Illinois

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments (EAs), which have been issued since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic to address food insecurity challenges, will end in Illinois after February, when the federal increases expire. This change will impact over one million households and two million people in Illinois.

The benefit amount participants will receive starting in March will be noted in a client letter sent to all SNAP recipient households.

The Illinois Department of Human Services seeks to prepare SNAP Participants for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s return of SNAP benefits to the pre- pandemic levels. Grocery and pharmacy retailers can assist in the effort by posting SNAP Reduction Customer Notice posters in their stores.

Also in Illinois, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services will review the following classes at the Drugs &Therapeutics Advisory Board meeting on April 6: CGRP migraine agents, Oral Antipsychotic (class clean-up). All clinical and financial submissions are due to the Department by 3:00 p.m. CST on March 16. Submissions should be sent to: HFS.SupplementalRebaleProgram@illinois.gov. For more information, please visit here.

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:14:17-05:00January 27, 2023|Illinois|

Indiana

NACDS was a sponsor of the January 24 Indiana Pharmacists Day at the Capitol. Pharmacists, technicians, interns and pharmacy students participated in advocacy training, provided health screening of legislators and staff and promoted the passage of several healthcare bills dealing with prescription drug rebates and pricing (SB 8, HB 1273), Medicaid reimbursement for clinical services (SB 152), prescribing and dispensing of hormonal contraceptives (SB 153, HB 1224), establishing a statewide standing order for dispensing naloxone (SB 214), “Test and Treat” (HB 1182) and auditing PBMs (HB 1445).

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:13:43-05:00January 27, 2023|Indiana|

Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed Executive Order Number 10 placing a moratorium on administrative rulemaking and initiating a comprehensive review of all existing administrative rules, including a cost benefit analysis of existing rules to evaluate the public benefits, determine whether the benefits justify the cost and explore less restrictive alternatives consistent with the intended purpose.

Also in Iowa, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Iowa Medicaid published INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO 2415-MC-FFS – End of Continuous Coverage Requirement.

Also in Iowa, as part of its realignment initiative, DHHS announced its new combined health and human services website.

Finally in Iowa, NACDS sponsored the Iowa Pharmacy Association’s (IPA’s) Pharmacist Day on the Hill held on January 25. Pharmacists and pharmacy students participated in advocacy education and training activities and traveled to the Capitol to advocate for the modernization of the Pharmacy Practice Act, an increase in the Medicaid professional dispensing fee and enforcement of PBM regulations.

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

Michael Silber2023-01-27T10:13:14-05:00January 27, 2023|Iowa|

About Michael Silber