New York

On New Year’s Eve NYS Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed into law two pieces of legislation supported by NACDS. The first S3556 strengthens state anti-mandatory mail order (ammo) law. Legislators, concerned that the AMMO law was not operating as intended, passed S3566 to ensure that patients can get their prescriptions at their local pharmacy rather than be directed to mail order by their PBM. In addition, Governor Hochul signed into law S.3762 which provides for licensure and registration of pharmacy benefit managers. The bill also sets forth duties and obligations that PBMs must follow when performing services and allows the department of financial services to enforce the law and receive complaints from consumers, pharmacies, and healthcare providers. Unfortunately, Governor Hochul did veto S6603 which would have provided Medicaid pharmacy payment parity citing the fiscal note as her reasoning.  

Also in New York: The State Education Department published its Notice of Adoption of their regulation related to Licensure Examination, Licensure by Endorsement, and Continuing Education Requirements in the Profession of Pharmacy The regulation is effective January 1, 2022 and eliminates the Part III exam requirement. Also commencing with registration periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023, a new requirement for a licensee to complete as part of the 45 hours of formal continuing education at least three hours of formal continuing education acceptable to the department in compounding, among other changes. 

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

2022-01-07T15:51:31-05:00January 7, 2022|New York|

North Carolina

Here are the links to the latest North Carolina information on COVID vaccinations including the latest statewide standing order issued by Dr. Betsey Tilson on December 22, 2021. COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance Updated December 22, 2021 and Link to Summary Update.  

Dr. Tilson has also issued four updated statewide standing orders regarding the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. These changes were in light of the CDC recommending the administration of Pfizer booster doses for 12–15-year-old. 

Also in North Carolina, the Board of Pharmacy published proposed administrative rules concerning pharmacy interns. These rules can be found beginning on Page 1049 (PDF Page 57) of the North Carolina Register at this link. The Board will hold a public hearing on these rules on February 8, 2022. The public hearing will be held remotely. The public can participate on Teams at https://tinyurl.com/jsuk4bjk or may call 336-604-5350, conference ID 903 191 899#. Written comments will be accepted by the Board until February 14, 2022, and should be submitted to Jay Campbell, 6015 Farrington Road, Suite 201, Chapel Hill, NC 27517; fax (919) 246-1056; email ncboprulemaking@ncbop.org.

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

2022-01-07T15:50:18-05:00January 7, 2022|North Carolina|

North Dakota

The Medicaid Provider e-Newsletter — December 2021 includes articles with information related to pharmacists being able to bill for smoking cessation and continuous glucose monitoring services. Also, the Medicaid Provider Call Center will be unavailable from 12:15 to 2:45 p.m. Central Time on many Fridays in 2022 for staff training; see schedule in the newsletter. 

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

2022-01-07T16:11:26-05:00January 7, 2022|North Dakota|

Oregon

The Board of Pharmacy adopted the following permanent rules. 

Permanent Rule  Effective Date 
Division 007/041/045/065 – related to USP, Labeling, Repackaging  December 16, 2021 
Division 010 – related to Board Administration & Policies  December 16, 2021 
Division 019/021 – related to Pain Management CE  January 1, 2022 
Division 019/139 – related to Remote Dispensing Site Pharmacy/Telepharmacy  January 1, 2022 
Division 041 – related to Telework  December 16, 2021 
Division 041 – related to TCVP (Technician Checking Validation Program)  October 1, 2022 
Division 041/080 – related to Pseudoephedrine/Ephedrine  January 1, 2022 
Division 043 – related to SPDO/DPDO/CHC  January 1, 2022 
Division 043 – related to SPDO (Supervising Physician Dispensing Outlet)  March 31, 2022 
Division 060/110 – related to PDMP Fee Increase  January 1, 2022 

Also in Oregon, as a reminder, effective January 1, 2022, drugs containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine may be purchase without a prescription. See item above regarding the permanent rule related to pseudoephedrine/ephedrine. For information about the use of the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) system, please refer to the Board of Pharmacy’s November 2021 newsletter.  

Also in Oregon, the Board of Pharmacy issued a notice requesting fiscal impact estimates from stakeholders for temporary and permanent pharmacy closures. Note: any information provided to the Board becomes a public record. 

Finally in Oregon, the Board of Pharmacy’s CE Rules Advisory Committee will meet on January 18. Details to participate in the meeting via phone conference are available in the agenda.

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

2022-01-07T15:48:03-05:00January 7, 2022|Oregon|

Pennsylvania

The Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) has announced by bulletin that they will now reimburse pharmacies a $10 administration fee for any vaccine provided to adult Medicaid patients consistent with the Pharmacy Practice Act, retroactive to Nov. 1, 2021, in both FFS and MC.  Historically OMAP has only paid for ingredient costs. Billing codes are in the bulletin. Pharmacies cannot bill for vaccines covered under the VFC program. 

Also in Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) will be transitioning PDMP system vendors.  This change will bring new enhancements to the PDMP that are based on feedback from PDMP users, including a single platform for pharmacists to search patients, and upload and edit data. Starting on January 10, 2022, PDMP users will need to transfer their accounts to create new login credentials and establish their SFTP credentials (if applicable) within the LogiCoy PDMP platform. Pharmacies using a third party for data submission must ensure their vendor also transfers their accounts. Transitioning accounts takes an average user less than two minutes, as registration has been streamlined to pre-populate information based on the user’s license information. The transfer account period begins on January 10. During this time all PDMP users must, by February 14: 

  1. Visit https://pdmp.health.pa.gov/  
  1. Click “Transfer Account or Register” 
  1. Follow the prompts and enter their information 
  1. Ensure the information is correct and submit  

Pharmacists (or their data submission vendor) will be able to test their data submission during this time. Please note, before February 14, PDMP users will continue to use PMP Aware to search patients and PMP Clearinghouse to upload data. On February 14, PDMP users will begin using the LogiCoy PDMP to search patients and upload data. Users who search patients through their organization’s pharmacy management system will not need to change how they search patients and will not experience any changes to their pharmacy management system’s connection to the PDMP. For more information about the PDMP, please visit: www.doh.pa.gov/pdmp. For assistance with account transfer, please contact LogiCoy technical support at 844-939-0999 or email papdmp@logicoy.com.  

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

2022-01-07T16:13:27-05:00January 7, 2022|Pennsylvania|

Texas

The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) includes COVID-19 at-home test kits as a Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Healthy Texas Women (HTW), Kidney Health Care (KHC), and Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) pharmacy benefit effective January 3, 2022, for fee-for-service (FFS), and no later than January 17, 2022, for managed care. An adjudicated pharmacy claim is required for reimbursement of a COVID-19 at-home test. Clients may obtain COVID-19 at-home test kits from a Medicaid-enrolled retail pharmacy with or without a prescription from a prescribing provider. 

Also in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made several appointments to the Board of Pharmacy: Ian Shaw, a Dallas attorney will serve as a new public member, and pharmacists Suzette Tijerina and Jenny Yoakum were reappointed to serve a six-year term. 

Also in Texas, the Health and Human Services Commission’s Department of State Health Services is hosting weekly provider webinars on Tuesdays to share the latest COVID-19 vaccine information on ordering, administration, and reporting guidelines.  

  • Tuesday, January 11, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here. 
  • Tuesday, January 18, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here. 
  • Tuesday, January 25, Noon – 1:30 p.m. CT. Register here. 

Finally in Texas, the Board of Pharmacy published two proposed rules in the Texas Register on 12/24/2021: (1) conforms to federal standards by extending the time period for pharmacists to dispense prescription drug orders for Schedule II controlled substances issued by an out-of-state practitioner to the end of the 30th day after the date the prescription is issued; and (2) determines the validity of prescriptions issued as a result of teledentistry dental services or telemedicine dental services. Comments are due to the TSBP by January 24, 2022. 

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

2022-01-07T15:47:01-05:00January 7, 2022|Texas|

Virginia

The Board of Pharmacy has published final emergency regulations authorizing pharmacists to initiate treatment with certain drugs, devices, controlled paraphernalia, and other OTC supplies and equipment for adult patients became effective December 22, 2021. Pharmacists may now utilize the new statewide protocols to initiate treatment for vaccines, TB, HIV PeP and PrEP, and over-the counter medications when they decrease a patient’s out-of-pocket expenses. The regulations are a result of legislation that members, allies and NACDS worked on in the 2021 legislative session. 

Also in Virginia: The Department of Health has published a Revised COVID-19 Vaccine Standing Order has been updated and posted here. Also refer to the revised Summary of Legal Authorities for Pharmacists to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine. The updates to the Standing Order include: 

Allowing any COVID-19 vaccine booster to be administered at an interval of 5 months, rather than 6 months, after completion of the Pfizer-BioNTech primary series (any COVID-19 vaccine booster remains recommended 6 months after a Moderna vaccine primary series and 2 months after Johnson & Johnson vaccine) 

  1. Children 12-17 years old are recommended to receive a Pfizer booster vaccine 5 months following their primary series
  2. Children 5-11 years old who are immunocompromised are recommended to receive a 3rd Pfizer dose as part of their primary series 28 days after 2nd dose

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

2022-01-07T17:13:45-05:00January 7, 2022|Virginia|

Alabama

Changes described in the ALERT dated November 5, 2021, regarding the replacement of Claim Adjustment Reason Code (CARC) Code 45 with CARC Code (96) will not be implemented. Gainwell verified CARC Code 45 still conforms to the Payment & Remittance Uniform Use of CARCs and RARCs (835) Rule. As a result, Alabama Medicaid will continue using CARC Code 45 to indicate pricing adjustments to payments due to fee schedules/allowed amounts.

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

2021-12-17T11:59:48-05:00December 17, 2021|Alabama|

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