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California

As of January 27, the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, and Hughes Fire have burned nearly 50,000 acres in the Los Angeles County area. The Palisades Fire is at 94% containment, Eaton Fire is at 98% containment, Hughes Fire is at 95% containment. There have been minimal pharmacy closures in the impacted areas of California due to the wildfires. Healthcare Ready deactivated RxOpen on January 28 but will be monitoring the event in case any other impacts arise.

The Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP) was activated last week– and will remain active through March 15, 2025 – for those impacted by the California wildfires. Pharmacies and pharmacists play an essential role in educating patients about the availability of EPAP benefits. We encourage and support sharing the resources below with the public to enhance awareness:

NACDS is working with Healthcare Ready to provide support with outreach. Any insight, feedback or concerns regarding patient utilization of EPAP is appreciated. Please share your feedback with NACDS’ Lincy Abraham no later than February 3. If you are interested and willing to help support efforts to enhance awareness, you may also contact Healthcare Ready at 866-247-2694.

Also in California, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pertaining to Pharmacist Services, DHCS-19-002. The written comment period closes on February 5, 2025. DHSC posted the following related to the Public Comment Period

Also in California, the Department of Health Care Services posted the following weekly notice on the Medi-Cal Rx Web Portal: Medi-Cal Rx Weekly Wrap-up for January 17-23.

Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy has proposed additional modifications to Title 16 CCR § 1711, related to the Quality Assurance Programs. Any person who wishes to comment on the proposed modifications may do so by submitting written comments beginning January 27 and ending on February 11, to the following:

Contact Person: Lori Martinez

Agency Name: California State Board of Pharmacy

Address: 2720 Gateway Oaks Drive, Ste 100, Sacramento, CA 95834

Email: PharmacyRulemaking@dca.ca.gov

Fax: (916) 574-8618

Any responses to comments directly concerning the proposed modifications to the text of the regulations will be considered and responded to in the Final Statement of Reasons.

All documents related to this regulatory action are available on the Board’s website: https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/pending_regs.shtml.

Also in California, the board of pharmacy issued a reminder that licenses that are eligible for renewal will be processed online effective January 1, 2025. Those who are eligible include:

In most cases, the license expires at the end of the month of the licensee’s registered birthday for pharmacists, advanced practice pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. For designated representatives, the license expires at the first of the month.

The Board of Pharmacy will no longer mail out a paper renewal application for the above licenses. In its place, a postcard reminder will be sent approximately six weeks prior to the license expiration date and the licensee will renew by going to www.pharmacy.ca.gov. The postcard is only a reminder, if the licensee does not receive a postcard, they are still required to submit his/her payment on-time to avoid a delinquency fee and possible cancellation of the license.

For Pharmacists and Advanced Practice Pharmacists, if your license expired more than two years ago, you are not eligible to renew your license online. Contact the Board at RenewalStatus@dca.ca.gov for assistance.

Renewal payment transactions must be completed prior to 5:00 pm Pacific on the date the license expires to avoid the delinquency fee.

Online payments made after 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time are not credited on the day of the transaction. Print the payment confirmation at the end of this transaction for your records. Once the online payment is submitted, please allow two business days for processing.

Licensees are required to notify the board of any change of address within 30 days. Change of address may take between 7-10 business days to update in the system. If the correct address is not in the system at the time of renewal, the process may be delayed. Address changes can be made on-line or in writing to the board.

When renewing online, the licensee must confirm that his/her address is correct before submitting the paymentFees changed beginning January 1, 2025. The updated fee schedule with the new fees has been posted on the board’s website.

Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy posted the February 5-6, 2025 Board meeting agenda on its website. Of interest, please note the discussion and possible action related to compounded drug preparations, hazardous drugs and radiopharmaceuticals and waiver of pharmacy law provisions in response to the state of emergency related to the Palisades Fire.

Finally in California, Covered California announced a special enrollment period for residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until March 8, 2025. Resources are available through Los Angeles County and the State of California.  Of the 1.3 million uninsured Californians who qualify for subsidies through Covered California or are eligible for Medi-Cal coverage, 356,000 reside in Southern California. Through the BenefitsCal portal, Californians can get and manage benefits online. This includes food assistance (CalFresh, formerly food stamps), cash aid (CalWORKs, General Assistance, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants), and affordable health insurance (Medi-Cal).

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

2025-01-30T13:36:41-05:00January 30, 2025|California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont|

Florida

The Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) contracts with Medicaid health and dental plans to provide State Plan services to health plan enrollees in the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program. The Agency recently contracted with health and dental plans effective February 1, 2025. In this new iteration of SMMC, the Medicaid regions have been realigned into nine regions from eleven. The regional naming convention has also changed, with regions 1-9 have become regions A-I. The Agency has posted a map of the regional changes ,a list of the plans by type, and plan coverage.  Visit the Agency’s SMMC 3.0 webpage for more information. Please refer to the SMMC 3.0 website for more information.

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

2025-01-30T13:34:23-05:00January 30, 2025|Florida|

Indiana

NACDS submitted comments to the Senate Health Care and Wellness Committee in support of SB 503, which includes to ensure network adequacy, requirements that PBMs reimburse pharmacies at a minimum of the acquisition cost of a drug and an adequate professional dispensing fee (PDF) equal to the Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) PDF. Also, the bill prohibits steering patients, defines specialty drugs, prohibits certain fees, and provides additional oversight and enforcement in the Office of the Attorney General.

Also in Indiana, SB 140, a more limited PBM reform bill modeled after the Kentucky law, passed the Senate Health Care and Wellness Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action. This bill requires the Insurance Commissioner to determine minimum reimbursement for a professional dispensing fee based on a cost of dispensing study done every two years. It also requires PBMS to file an annual report on adequate networks and establishes a process for filing complaints.

Also in Indiana, HB 1606, a bill prohibiting spread pricing, was referred to the House Insurance Committee.

Also in Indiana, SB 96, immunization clean-up legislation addressing age restrictions and the list of immunizations allowed to be administered by a pharmacist was referred to the Senate Public Policy Committee.

Finally in Indiana, HB 1571, a scope of practice expansion and clean-up bill, address multiple issues including immunizations, Test and Treat, pharmacy technician duties, MAT and payment for services. The bill was referred to the House Public Health Committee.

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

2025-01-30T13:33:11-05:00January 30, 2025|Idaho|

Kentucky

MedImpact, the Medicaid Single PBM, held its 1st quarter pharmacy providers meeting this week. You can review the slide deck, as well as those from previous meetings on the provider portal page.

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

2025-01-30T13:31:58-05:00January 30, 2025|Kentucky|

Maine

On February 6, 2025, the Maine Board of Pharmacy will hold their regular scheduled meeting.  The agenda includes election of officers, opportunity to comment on the function of the board, and consideration of a Maine Academy of Physician Associates request related to routine license verification by pharmacists and a Maine Prevention Services request to partner with pharmacists to educate communities about ‘Maine QuitLink’.

For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.

2025-01-30T13:30:19-05:00January 30, 2025|Maine|

Massachusetts

NACDS and the Massachusetts Chain Pharmacy Council have begun engaging the governor’s office and legislative leaders on the budget proposal that includes a $2/prescription assessment to help pay for MassHealth pharmacy benefit program.

For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.

2025-01-30T13:29:32-05:00January 30, 2025|Massachusetts|

Nebraska

Tobacco Free Nebraska announced its partnership with the Mayo Clinic’s Nicotine Dependence Center to host Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training in Lincoln.

Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) training is a specialized training for healthcare professionals about providing treatment for individuals seeking to quit tobacco. The program is worth 29 AMA, ANCC, ACPE, or CE credits and covers topics such as pharmacotherapy, motivational interviewing, evidence-based practice, sustaining tobacco treatment protocols and working with special populations. This course is delivered through a blended learning format in which instruction is completed first online through the Brightspace platform as a self-paced training, followed by a live, interactive 3-day training in Lincoln on March 4-6, 2025. The cost of the training registration is funded by Tobacco Free Nebraska, so no cost is associated with registration.

The online portion of training opens January 28 and closes February 28, so individuals are encouraged to register now to have ample time to complete the online portion of the training that is due before participation in the in-person class on March 4-6.

The training is for healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, who have a strong interest in the field of tobacco or health or provide clinical care to people who use tobacco. Participants must be tobacco-free for at least six months prior to starting the training. To complete full certification, 240 practice hours must be completed within two years of the training. Click here for more information on requirements.

Registration is available online. Click “create an account” to begin the registration process. Reach out to Kyla Scott if you have any questions.

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

2025-01-30T13:28:21-05:00January 30, 2025|Nebraska|

North Carolina

Governor Josh Stein (D) announced an executive order that directs cabinet agencies to safeguard medical privacy, ensures women receive accurate information about their pregnancies, and protects doctors providing lawful reproductive health care.

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

2025-01-30T13:26:24-05:00January 30, 2025|North Carolina|

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