On January 7, Gov. Jeff Landry (R) was sworn into office, replacing former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), who had reached his term limit. Ralph Abraham, MD, a physician, was appointed head of the Louisiana Department of Health. NACDS and our in-state partner, the Louisiana Alliance for Retail Pharmacies (LARP), have requested a meeting.
Also in Louisiana, the new Legislature elected last Fall was sworn in on January 8. Currently, Republicans hold a supermajority in both Houses.
Also in Louisiana, NACDS’ in-state partner, the Louisiana Alliance of Retail Pharmacies (LARP), submitted a comment letter to the Board of Pharmacy at the December 28, 2023, public hearing raising concerns about a proposed rule on product integrity that implements temperature control measures for shipments of prescription drugs to patients. Specifically, the proposed rule change would require ALL home delivery medications, including room temperature medications, to be sent in temperature-controlled packaging from pharmacies to patients.
Also in Louisiana, the Department of Health (LDH) issued an Informational Bulletin 23-22 to Medicaid providers reminding them that RSV vaccines that have been covered since August 3, 2023, must have the correct CPT codes 90380 and 90381.
Finally in Louisiana, in late December 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the state plan amendment (SPA) to increase the dispensing fee for local pharmacies only from $10.99 to $11.81. The increased fee applies to Medicaid Fee-for-Service pharmacy claims and Medicaid Managed Care local pharmacy claims, retroactive to the date of service of October 1, 2023.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.