Earlier this week, the House of Representatives and, subsequently, the Senate passed HF 891, an act relating to appropriations for health and human services, and it will be sent to the governor. The bill includes language directing the department to amend Medicaid managed care organization contracts to authorize the establishment of a managed care pharmacy dispensing fee reimbursement with either (a) the established fee-for-service $10.38 pharmacy dispensing fee reimbursement per prescription based upon the most recent state cost of dispensing study or (b) a dispensing fee determined contractually by mutual agreement between the managed care organization and a participating pharmacy with more than 30 locations in the state and headquarters outside the state, not to exceed the established fee-for-service $10.38 pharmacy dispensing fee reimbursement per prescription.
Also in Iowa, this week, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed SF 296 into law authorizing pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 immunizations or vaccinations to adults according to statewide protocols, perform point-of-care testing for influenza, streptococcus, and COVID-19 and initiate treatment following a positive test, and enter into collaborative practice agreements with other healthcare providers.
Lastly in Iowa, on May 10 the Board of Pharmacy issued guidance on how a pharmacy may report dispensations or transactions involving nonprescription Schedule V controlled substances, such as codeine-containing cough syrups, to the Iowa Prescription Monitoring Program, under an April 7 final rule.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.