The House Health Committee unanimously advanced HB 60, legislation that will bring the Commonwealth into compliance with federal law, allowing pharmacies to transfer Schedule II prescriptions electronically. The full House intends to pass it when they return to session the week of March 17. It will then go to the Senate for consideration.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Board of Pharmacy has released proposed rules regarding pharmacist-delegated technician authorities. NACDS has carefully reviewed these rules and shared our concerns with members. NACDS will submit feedback to the Board of Pharmacy by the February deadline.
Also in Tennessee, the Belmont University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences will host a virtual conference on February 25 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm CST, focused on new FDA-approved drugs in 2024. Registration is required with a fee of $15 for pharmacists and $10 for other healthcare professionals, and participants must meet specific criteria to earn one hour of ACPE Pharmacy CE credit. Registration deadline is February 23. Register here!
Finally in Tennessee, program updates to the TennCare Diaper Benefit Program are coming soon. Please watch the Division of TennCare Diaper benefit website and the OptumRx/TennCare website for information about an upcoming online seminar and added resources to assist pharmacies. Current TennCare pharmacy resources are also posted on the TennCare website.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) delivered his state-of-the-state address online on February 2.
Also in Texas, the Board of Pharmacy approved proposed rules removing the ratio of pharmacists to pharmacy technicians in a central fill facility.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
