Gov. Wolf (D) has signed HB 2679 as Act 80 of 2022. The law, which was effective upon signing, allows pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer COVID and flu vaccines to children down to the age of 5. The bill also makes a few COVID pharmacy waivers permanent related to pharmacist supervision of other vaccinators.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Tennessee Pharmacy Association is looking for Champion Advocates to host legislators in their pharmacy or hospital, including members of Congress during the August recess. Please contact Anthony@TNPharm.org to express your interest.
Also in Tennessee, please see the updates to the PDL, Clinical Criteria, and Interim Criteria for July 2022. These changes went into effect on July 1st.
Finally in Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) is hosting an Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Healthcare Provider Conference on Friday, July 22, 2022, and will offer FREE Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for participating providers (offered through TMA). Online sessions will be available one week after the conference concludes for providers that cannot attend the live event. Questions and to register – Visit their website
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
This week, the State Health and Human Services Agency Secretary and the Director of the State Department of Public Health along with the State Public Health Officer issued a joint statement supporting the recommendation by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months of age.
Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy sent a notice about reissued pharmacy law waivers in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) declaration of emergency and the nation declaration of emergency.
These waivers and all Pharmacy Law waivers are posted under COVID-19 Updates and Resources on the Board’s website.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law on June 20, 2022, House Bill 357 which requires a health insurer or health maintenance organization providing pharmacy benefits through a group health insurance policy, including a pharmacy benefit manager, must comply with audit requirements. In addition, the legislation provides a penalty for failure to register as a pharmacy benefit manager. The law takes effect July 1, 2022.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The HFS (Healthcare and Family Services) Illinois Drugs and Therapeutics Advisory Board’s quarterly meeting will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2022. Call in information can be found here. Pre-registration is required.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
On June 13, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed HF 2384 related to PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) including MAC (Maximum Allowable Cost) lists, claw backs and enforcement.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
MassHealth just released its latest edition of Medicaid Pharmacy Facts updated Drug Lists.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
MDH (Minnesota Department of Health) has updated the Interim COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guide, Template: COVID-19 Screening and Agreement and created the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Protocol for 6 months through 4 years and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Protocol for 6 months through 5 years. Find these resources at COVID-19 Vaccine Providers.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
This week at the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy, the Board agreed to extend the remote processing pilot program for 6 months to allow time for the regulations to be finalized. The Board will be notifying New Jersey pharmacies of this extension. Today there are 124 pilot programs up and running. NACDS sent a letter last month requesting that the pilot be continued.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.