ForwardHealth reminds providers that they are to resume collecting co-pays starting July 1st. Please see the ForwardHealth Update for more information. Please recall the temporary copay suspension was introduced in the December 2019 Update.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
All previously published expiration dates related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency are once again extended by the Alabama Medicaid Agency (Medicaid). The new expiration date is the earlier of July 31, 2020, the conclusion of the COVID-19 National emergency, or any expiration date noticed by the Alabama Medicaid Agency through a subsequent ALERT. A listing of previous Provider ALERT and notices related to the health emergency is available on the Agency’s COVID-19 page.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
In advance of the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature reached an agreement on the budget this week. Below are highlights of two budget trailer bills of interest to pharmacies.
(AB 89/SB 121) contains language related to federal funding for contact tracing. Specifically, it allows Department of Finance (DOF) to allocate those funds as directed by California Department of Public Health (CDPH), as long as the funds are not used by any state or local entity for applications that collect information relating to a person’s location and movement. Please see below:
SEC. 104.
Section 11.95 is added to the Budget Act of 2020, to read:
SEC. 11.95.
(a) Federal legislation enacted between March 6, 2020, and April 24, 2020, is providing funding to the state to support testing and contact tracing in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Department of Finance may allocate these funds to support testing and contact tracing as directed by the State Department of Public Health, provided that funds are not used by any state or local entity for applications that collect information related to an individual’s location and movement. This subdivision does not preclude a contact tracer from using a program to store, organize, or analyze any data otherwise affirmatively provided to the contact tracer by an individual. All testing and contact tracing must be conducted in compliance with applicable federal and state privacy laws.
(b) Funds described in subdivision (a) may be allocated to offset or reduce appropriations in the 2019−20 and 2020−21 fiscal years that support the COVID-19 response between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. If no item for a department currently exists to allow for adjustments for the additional federal funds allocation or additional reimbursements to be allocated, then an item may be created for this purpose.
(c) The Department of Finance may adjust any item in Section 2.00 to account for additional federal funding or any additional reimbursements to support testing and contact tracing. If no item for a department currently exists in Section 2.00 of this Act to allow for adjustments for the additional federal funds allocation or additional reimbursements to be allocated, then an item may be created for this purpose.
(d) Changes to any item in Section 2.00 may be authorized not sooner than 10 days after written notification to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the changes to the planned expenditures to support testing and contact tracing. The chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee or the chairperson’s designee may shorten the 10 days by written notification.
AB 80/SB 102 does not include the proposed pharmacy reimbursement cuts for services such as providing self-administered hormonal contraceptives, vaccines, nicotine replacement products, travel medications, naloxone directly to patients and PEP/PrEP for HIV prevention.
Also in California... Legislation of interest to chain pharmacies passed the Assembly and was referred to the Senate Health Committee for further consideration.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
In a letter submitted on June 19th , NACDS and the Colorado Retailers Association urges Gov. Jared Polis to sign into law HB20-1061, legislation increasing access to care by authorizing pharmacists to prescribe and dispense Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention medication to patients.
Also in Colorado... NACDS met with the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to provide additional information on statutes and rules related to the modernization of the practice of pharmacy, responding to questions raised regarding the alignment of Colorado state law with the federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the non-discretionary duties of pharmacy technicians.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Notice announces the intention of the Department of Health to amend regulations under FAC 64D-3 to add the coronavirus (COVID-19) to the list of reportable diseases and conditions. A comment due date is not specified
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Legislators are continuing to meet in a special session convened earlier this month attempting to negotiate a balance budget agreement prior to the star of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2020.
Also in Louisiana... Two COVID-19 emergency rules have been extended until November.
Emergency rule of the Department of Health, Bureau of Health Services Financing, adopts regulations under LAC 50:I, Chapter 5, to establish provisions for the delivery of telemedicine during a declared disaster under the Medical Assistance Program. The rule provides that services may temporarily be provided through the use of an interactive audio telecommunications system, without the requirement of video, if such action is determined to be necessary. The rule, which is issued in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, extends a March 16th emergency rule. The rule is effective July 15, 2020, and expires Nov. 12, 2020.
Emergency rule of the Department of Health amends regulations under LAC 51:II, Chapter 1, to add coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)/infections with SARS-CoV-2 to the list of reportable diseases. The rule also requires laboratories and health care facilities to report testing results. The rule is effective July 5, 2020 and expires Nov. 2, 2020.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Missouri’s MOHealthNet has updated information about its copay policy related to COVID-19. The following is an excerpt: Providers who have collected copayments from participants for dates of service January 1, 2020 through the end of the public health emergency must refund the copayments to the participants. Shared dispensing fees should not be retroactively adjusted.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that he is convening a special session of the legislature in early July to address financial and COVID–19 pandemic issues. Nevada anticipates an $812 million budget shortfall this fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 preliminary estimates indicate an approximate $1.3 billion budget shortfall for the 2021 fiscal year that starts July 1, 2020.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
On June 18th, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham convened a special legislative session to address the state’s huge fiscal shortfall caused by the oil price crash and novel coronavirus pandemic. The modified budget approved by both the House and Senate that was sent to the Governor uses a combination of spending cuts and federal funding to deal with a projected $2 billion drop in state revenue for the next fiscal year. The revised fiscal year 2021 budget reduces spending by more than $600 million, bringing the budget to $7 billion. The revised budget reduces spending by 4 percent for most state agencies.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.