The e-Health Advisory Committee issued its final recommendations to Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) to address the opioid epidemic. Of note is the recommended goal of increasing electronic prescribing of controlled substances from its current 20% to 80% by 2020 and to develop and implement policy options for enforcement if the goal is not met.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
NACDS submitted comments to the Board of Pharmacy urging regulators to reconsider plans to require compliance with USP Ch. <800> by July 1, 2018, ahead of the USP’s December 1, 2019 effective date. At its December meeting, the Board heeded the concerns raised by NACDS and others in the pharmacy community about early implementation and opted to delay compliance until December 2019.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
CMS has approved the State Department of Health’s Medicaid State Plan Amendment for cost-based reimbursement plus a $10.00 professional dispensing fee retroactive to April 1, 2017 for the Medicaid fee-for-service program. The new professional dispensing fee is $10.00 per prescription or written order by a practitioner and does not apply to over-the-counter products that do not meet the definition of a covered outpatient drug per section 1927K of the Social Security Act. The following are changes to product reimbursement in the Medicaid fee-for-service program:
The state will initiate the reimbursement changes in two phases. In the near future, the State intends to give pharmacies two weeks’ notice that the new rate will be initiated on all Medicaid fee-for-service claims. After the successful roll out of the claims processing with the new rates, the State will begin a retroactive adjustment of past claims. The adjustment will be spread out over a period of time.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
During the second special legislative session held in mid-December, lawmakers approved an additional appropriation of $17.7 million to fund the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), including the state’s Medicaid program. These funds, coupled with the $22.8 million that was provided when Gov. Mary Fallin (R) approved sections of the appropriations bill on November 17, give the OHCA enough money to operate at current levels until April 2018. To officially withdraw the six percent across the-board Medicaid provider rate reductions that were approved by the OHCA Board on December 1 and scheduled to be effective January 1, 2018, the OHCA held a special board meeting on December 29 to reverse the proposed provider rate reductions.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
On December 22,2017, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed SB 728 into law which will allow a prescriber to forego querying the Prescription Monitoring Program database when they prescribe a nonnarcotic Schedule V controlled substance that treats an epilepsy or seizure disorder to a patient. The law will be effective 60 days from the date of signing.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
A final rule adopted by the Board of Pharmacy amending Regulation 9 regarding the administration of medication went into effect on December 1, 2017. The rule removes provisions regarding the Medications Administration Advisory Committee and the seven classifications of approved medications for administration by pharmacists, and deletes a reference that the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course required to obtain the authority to administer medications/immunizations must be accredited by the American Heart Association.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.