The Board of Pharmacy posted the following:
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
DMAS (Department of Medical Assistance Services) has issued a memo informing pharmacy providers that DMAS fee-for-service (FFS) and the Medicaid Managed Care Organizations will provide up to five professional dispense fees per month (defined as a rolling 30-day period) for buprenorphine-based opioid use disorder (OUD) products, effective December 1, 2022.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Department of Safety and Professional Services announced it earned a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance for its Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (ePDMP). The grant funds will be used to modernize the self-service functionality and provide improved data quality, better customer support and greater user satisfaction.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Reminder, Alabama Administrative Rule 420-4-1-.04 requires pharmacists to report to the State Health Officer or designee the dispensing of anti-tuberculosis medications and dispensing of antiretroviral medications to an infant.
Also in Alabama, all previously published expiration dates related to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) are once again extended by the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The new expiration date is the earlier of November 30, 2022, the conclusion of the COVID-19 national emergency, or any expiration date noticed by the Alabama Medicaid Agency through a subsequent ALERT.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Department of Health Care Services posted the following alerts and weekly notices on the Medi-Cal Rx Web Portal.
Also in California, the Board of Pharmacy issued its Annual Notice of Availability of Precedential Decisions Index. The index and the text of the precedential decisions are available on the Board’s webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
Patients and pharmacies in the Commonwealth took a giant leap forward this week when Anthem announced they will be enrolling pharmacists as network providers. The move is a result of the enactment of a law that provides for pharmacy payment parity; HB 48 of 2021 required Kentucky health plans to reimburse pharmacists for services within a pharmacist’s scope of practice that are otherwise covered by the plan, if provided by another healthcare provider. Coupled with a pharmacist’s current authority to provide more than a dozen clinical services under Board of Pharmacy Protocols, Anthem members will have widespread convenient access to treatment at pharmacies for ailments such as flu, strep and tobacco cessation. Pharmacies interested in enrolling in the network should contact kyprovidercontracting@anthem.com. For more information, please see the Kentucky Pharmacists Association’s (KPhA’s) latest news release. NACDS applauds KPhA for its work with Anthem and its leadership in our joint support for HB 48.
Also in Kentucky, Medicaid has proposed a rule that may make it easier for pharmacies to provide vaccine services to kids with Medicaid coverage. The rule change eliminates the requirement to use Vaccines for Children (VFC) stock and strikes current language that states Medicaid will not reimburse for the cost of any vaccine if already available through the VFC program. NACDS interprets this to mean that pharmacies do not have to be enrolled in VFC to immunize and be reimbursed for Medicaid-covered kids. NACDS is seeking member feedback to determine whether this change would be significant to your vaccination efforts. Please review this rule and send Jill McCormack your comments by November 18.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Latest edition of MassHealth Pharmacy Facts has been distributed to MassHealth Pharmacy providers.
Also in Massachusetts, MassHealth has issued the attached corrected bulletin #352 relative to the reporting and payment of overpayments received from MassHealth. The original bulletin was issued in September 2022.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) posted the COVID-19 Fee Schedule Bivalent Booster Updated (revised 10.27.2022).
Also in Nebraska, the DHHS announced Medicaid’s next COVOID update call will be held on November 2 at noon (Central). To join the call, dial 408-418-9388 (access code) 2492 610 1342 or use the meeting link:
https://sonvideo.webex.com/sonvideo/j.php?MTID=m3aab184252403e62a6ff312be38e9d54
Also in Nebraska, the Board of Pharmacy posted its agenda for the November 7 meeting.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
To help providers, the Department of Health and Human Services updated its Provider Guidance on Therapeutics to include detailed up-to-date information. Providers are encouraged to read the guidance. More information is available on the Therapeutics Information for Providers webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.