NACDS submitted a letter to the members of the Washington State House of Representatives Health Care and Wellness Committee in support of the State Department of Health’s legislation removing a burdensome, antiquated requirement that all e-prescribing systems be approved by the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission, formerly the Board of Pharmacy.
The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs filed Administrative Rules with the Office of the Great Seal to create a standing order for dispensing opioid antagonists that was effective January 23.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) issued an Informational Letter with details about its upcoming cost of dispensing survey. As in previous years, NACDS submitted feedback to DHS about the survey instrument. Surveys will be mailed Tuesday, February 6 with a due date of Friday, March 30.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
NACDS joined the New York State pharmacy associations in a Medicaid meeting to discuss details of the Governor’s budget proposal. New details include that the Medicaid Managed Care Medication Adherence provision would allow managed care plans to consider—not mandate—medication synchronization. Of high interest is a new proposal to institute an opioid surcharge of two cents per morphine milligram equivalent on the first sale of opioid prescriptions in the state. At the meeting, the state confirmed that they would target pharmacies as the first sale in the state. The state anticipates this will generate $170 million the first year of implementation. The stated goal of the surcharge is to prevent opioid addiction and prescribing. The budget will be completed by Sunday, April 1.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Medicaid reached out to the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association regarding reports that numerous pharmacies in the western part of the state are reporting little or no inventory of brand name Tamiflu (which is a preferred product on the North Carolina Medicaid Preferred Drug List). The Department has confirmed with Roche that there is no market shortage of brand name Tamiflu and other wholesalers also confirmed there was plenty of inventory with more on the way. Please contact your store operations professionals to check your Tamiflu inventory. North Carolina Medicaid would appreciate any assistance you may be able to provide to make sure your pharmacies throughout North Carolina have adequate inventory of brand name Tamiflu for North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Gov. Doug Ducey (R) called for a special session in January to combat the opioid crisis. The Arizona Department of Health Services has developed 12 policy recommendations to address the opioid crisis, including “requiring” e-prescribing, ending dispensing of controlled substances by prescribers, and requiring pharmacists to check the prescription drug monitoring program prior to dispensing.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.
Pharmacy laws passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) that took effect January 1, 2018, are available on the Board of Pharmacy’s website in Pharmacy Law Changes for 2018 under the “Popular Pages” heading. The online Law Book under “Popular Pages” also has been updated with new laws for 2018.
Also in California…A new pharmacy provider Self-Attestation Claim Volume Process for Medi-Cal fee-for-service started in mid-January and will continue through the end of February. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is implementing a new fee-for-service reimbursement methodology for covered outpatient drugs. Part of this new methodology is a two-tiered professional dispensing fee based on a pharmacy provider’s total (Medi-Cal and non-Medi-Cal) annual pharmacy claim volume ($13.20 if less than 90,000 claims per year; $10.05 if 90,000 or more). Reporting the claim volume is a self-attestation process, which will be submitted electronically. Pharmacy providers seeking the higher of two professional dispensing fees as part of the forthcoming reimbursement changes for covered outpatient drugs should either refer to the Pharmacy Provider Self-Attestation FAQs or call the Telephone Service Center at 1-800-541-5555.
The Legislature convened its 2018 legislative session on January 10.
The Legislature convened its 30-day fiscal only legislative session on January 16. For the first time in years, the state has a budget surplus.