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South Carolina

Effective for dates of service on or after March 1, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) will discontinue the hemophilia program arrangement with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). Factor services may be provided by any fee-for-service (FFS) enrolled pharmacy provider. Pharmacy reimbursement utilizes the standard basis of payment for the FFS pharmacy benefit at the lowest of:

  • The actual acquisition cost (AAC) plus a professional dispensing fee (PDF) of $10.50; 
  • The states’ maximum allowable cost plus a PDF of $10.50; or, 
  • The usual and customary charges to the public. 

Providers rendering care to Healthy Connections Medicaid members enrolled in FFS Medicaid should direct any questions related to this transition to the Magellan Medicaid Administration call center at (866) 254-1669. The call center is available 24 hours per day. For more information, click here.  

Also in South Carolina, a stolen prescription pad alert has been issued. Please be very cognizant of any controlled substance prescriptions from Kraemer Women’s Care. Please call (803)-956-4018 to verify a prescription before filling.  

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

2023-02-10T09:46:04-05:00February 10, 2023|South Carolina|

Tennessee

Tennessee Justice Center will be hosting a webinar on March 1, at 11:00 am (Central) focused on how to prepare your team for having conversations with TennCare beneficiaries about their eligibility redetermination.

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

2023-02-10T09:45:25-05:00February 10, 2023|Tennessee|

Texas

House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) announced committee assignments this week.  

Also in Texas, Sen. Pete Flores (R) filed SB 749, legislation making permanent the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) authority that authorizes pharmacists to both order and administer routine immunizations for individuals three years of age and older. The House companion bill is HB 1105 by Rep. Four Price (R). 

Also in Texas, Rep. Jacey Jetton (R) filed HB 2079, legislation would allow pharmacists to furnish medications for flu, strep and COVID as a result of a positive CLIA-waived test.  

Also in Texas, NACDS is a sponsor of Texas Pharmacy Day at the Capitol on February 28. This is a great opportunity for pharmacists from all practice settings to show unity promoting our legislative agenda. Space is limited, so register now. 

Finally in Texas, after a closed-door session at the quarterly meeting of the State Board of Pharmacy this week, the Board terminated the Executive Director Tim Tucker. 

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

2023-02-10T09:44:45-05:00February 10, 2023|Texas|

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.

2023-02-10T09:44:01-05:00February 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.

2023-02-10T09:43:28-05:00February 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.

2023-02-10T09:42:53-05:00February 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. 

Also in California, Medi-Cal posted the following:  

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.

2023-01-27T10:16:42-05:00January 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.

2023-01-27T10:15:40-05:00January 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:  

  1. Log in to your Idaho PDMP account. 
  2. From your dashboard click “View All Delegates.” 
  3. Review delegates listed.
  4. If the delegates are correct, take no further action. If a delegate should be changed, continue to step five. 
  5. Select any delegate to remove. 
  6. Click on “Remove.”
  7. Click on “Reject.”
  8. 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.

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

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