The Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy has updated information on the Licensee Scope of Practice dealing with certified pharmacy technicians and has issued a document on Extended Absence of a Manager of Record.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Several bills have been introduced to advance NACDS’ Scope of Business Campaign. HF 4008 and SF 3823 would provide payment parity for pharmacy-based services and HF 4009 would update the states’ pharmacy immunization and testing authority to match the PREP Act.
Also in Minnesota, the House Health Finance and Policy Committee heard HF 3854, allowing pharmacists to prescribe HIV prevention medications. NACDS and our in-state partners were instrumental in forming a coalition of stakeholders that is proactively advancing the bill. Committee members had no major concerns and there was no opposition voiced at the hearing from the medical community. The committee held the bill over for possible inclusion in an omnibus committee bill.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Office of Health Insurance Programs of the New York State Department of Health has approved the release of the February 2022 Medicaid Update. You may also go straight to an article or topic that pertains to you by selecting from the current issue’s table of contents below.
Policy and Billing
All Providers
Pharmacy
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
The Board of Pharmacy issued its March 2022 newsletter that includes articles about biosimilars and legislation enacted in 2021 that expands the role of the pharmacists with prescriptive authority for immunizations and tobacco cessation.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has signed HB 37, legislation sponsored by Rep. Gayle Manning (R), that allows pharmacists to provide 30-day emergency refills without contacting the prescriber. NACDS and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants advocated for passage of this legislation that aligns with our efforts to make COVID-19 business efficiencies permanent. The bill will be effective June 1.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Board of Pharmacy has issued public notices for its next two meetings to be held on March 22 and April 26. Agendas have not been posted on the website.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
The Department of Vermont Health Access recently released its March 2022 Pharmacy Newsletter. It contains information on:
Also in Vermont, the Department of Vermont Health Access issued a communication that Synagis® prophylaxis is of unproven value when administered outside of the RSV season as defined by the CDC surveillance reports. Therefore, no further shipments will be authorized after March 11.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
The Board of Pharmacy has posted the Agenda for its March 15 meeting. Please note they will consider a Guidance Document on Pharmacy Working Conditions that you can find on page 101 of the agenda. Also on the agenda is a proposed rule on Pharmacist Initiation of Treatment that was a result of 2021 legislation that added authority for pharmacists to provide vaccines; Tuberculosis testing; HIV prevention medications; and paraphernalia, supplies and equipment to adults. The Board previously approved an emergency regulation on the same subject as well as protocols that were both effective in December 2021 and can be found on the Board website.
Also in Virginia, on April 4, the Department of Medical Assistance (Medicaid) will be switching from its Legacy Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) to the Medicaid Enterprise System (MES) for fee-for-service. As a result, the MediCall and Activated Voice Response System (AVR) eligibility systems will be down from March 30 through April 3. Please see this notice for more detail. DMAS will be sending a series of Medicaid Memos detailing the impact of these system changes on the Provider community, the latest can be found here. You can find training videos and user manuals for MES here.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The 60-day legislative session ended its regular session on March 10. Prior to adjournment, NACDS chain pharmacy lobbyists, independent pharmacists, the Washington State Pharmacists Association (WSPA), the Northwest Grocers Association (NWG) and the Washington Retail Association (WRA) successfully stopped ESHB 1852 from advancing, legislation that would have required directions for use and auxiliary warnings on prescription labels in both English and at least 15 languages. Rather than have this issue defined by the Legislature, the coalition will be working with the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission (PQAC) to adopt rules establishing requirements for the translation of prescription drug information.
Also in Washington, on March 4, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed into law legislation capping insulin at $35. (Chapter 10, 2022/SSB 5546)
Also in Washington, the Health Care Authority (HCA) will submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by July 15th a request to renew the Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver, called the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP), which will allow the state to create and continue to develop projects, activities and services that improve Washington’s health care system using federal Medicaid funding. The new proposals include: continuous Medicaid enrollment for children; extending coverage for postpartum services; re-entry services for individuals who are exiting jail, prison, or other correctional facility and enhancements to long-term services and supports (LTSS).
Finally in Washington, HCA efforts aimed at increasing health care cost transparency and controlling health care cost growth include:
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.