Concerned about confidentiality of the Maximum Allowable Ingredient Cost (MAIC) data collected on the quarterly surveys, NACDS and the California Retailers Association (CRA) sought reassurances from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) that all survey data will be kept confidential. DHCS provided the below response and requested that the following statement be shared with members.
All invoice information collected through this survey and subsequent surveys will remain confidential. Access to information collected is limited to Mercer employees working on the MAIC program. Mercer will not release or otherwise make public any information that names and/or discloses the business, financial, personnel, or other information provided by pharmacies in the course of completing this survey and subsequent surveys. Mercer will perform the following steps to secure the confidentiality of the information before sharing with either Magellan or DHCS:
- Mercer will store and evaluate all invoice information collected on a secure network path, where only Mercer employees working on the MAIC program will be able to access the information.
- Mercer will supply to Magellan the results of the statistical analysis, the MAIC rate for each drug grouping level (e.g. aripiprazole 10mg tablet) for Medi-Cal pharmacy claim processing. Mercer will not share survey data with Magellan outside of the MAIC rates calculated.
Also in California. On October 22, 2020, the Board of Pharmacy’s Licensing Committee will hold a virtual meeting that will focus primarily on pharmacy technician immunization administration and expanding the authority for pharmacists to order and administer CLIA-waived tests. NACDS and the California Retailers Association (CRA) submitted a joint letter in advance. Meeting materials can be found here. Members can also log on to the state website for observation and public comments.
Also in California. To encourage greater access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), the Board adopted a policy statement supporting pharmacists providing direct care and assisting medical providers in caring for patients with opioid addiction. The Board also developed a sample collaborative practice agreement for pharmacists to provide MAT to patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) in collaboration with a medical care provider. According to the Board, pharmacists can use the sample agreement to provide MAT in collaboration with a practitioner who has a DATA 2000 waiver authorizing the practitioner to prescribe medications used to wean patients from opioids.
Also in California. In an effort to prepare for the 2021 legislative session in priority states, NACDS held two separate conference calls with our in-state partners, the California Retailers Association (CRA) and the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA), to discuss NACDS’ policy priorities, identified by member surveys, for both the Reimbursement and Scope of Business Campaigns. Both CRA and CPhA expressed support for working with NACDS to achieve improved reimbursement policies for pharmacies operating in the state and expressed interest in learning more about our scope expansion ideas and business efficiencies. NACDS will continue collaborating with both partners as we move into the 2021 legislative session.
Lastly in California. The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) scheduled its next public meeting of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee on October 21, 2020, at 12:30 PM via video/audio conference. The primary focus of this meeting will be to discuss the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) drug formulary. Members can register for this meeting here. The meeting agenda and related materials can be found on the DWC P&T Committee webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
