Georgia

The House Rural Development Council, chaired by Rep. Gerald Greene (R), met this week, and heard comments from Michael Power, the Senior Director for State Government Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association on PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) and their role in drug spending. A recording of the meeting has been posted online.  

Also in Georgia, the Board of Pharmacy has voted to initiate a public comment period for proposed changes to the Remote Prescription Drug Order Processing Rules (Rule 480-36-.01 and Rule 480-36-.07). The changes posted for public comment include the following. These changes will undergo a 30-day public comment period and are expected to be officially approved by the Board in December 

  • Removing Rule 480-36-.07: This removes the requirement for notifying patients when utilizing remote prescription drug order processing. 
  • Modifying Rule 480-36-.01: The final sentence that restricted the number of secondary remote entry pharmacists assisting the primary dispensing pharmacy has been struck. 

  Finally in Georgia, the Board of Pharmacy has provided clarification regarding the administration of the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine. They have confirmed that it can be administered in accordance with the statute, as it is now included in the recent update of the adult immunization schedule appendix.  

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

2023-10-27T12:01:51-04:00October 27, 2023|Georgia|

Illinois

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services is currently offering several new behavioral health courses through its Provider Assistance and Training Hub (PATH). All courses are open for registration in the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center (MTAC) Learning Center. Create or sign into your MTAC account at https://go.uillinois.edu/MTAC to access all available training courses. For training questions, please contact PATH-BH@illinois.edu. For questions about the MTAC Learning Management system, please reach out to omi.training@uillinois.edu. 

Also in Illinois, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF) is looking to host a statewide Veteran’s Day Event November 10-12. Its goal is to give away 1,500-2,000 bags of groceries to Black Veterans throughout the state. To date, they have secured a donation of 500 bags of groceries and are trying to secure 1,000-1,500 additional. They say gift cards would be helpful as well. The groceries would be distributed throughout the state but particularly East St. Louis, Peoria, Champaign, Chicago (south and west sides) and the south suburbs of Chicago/Will County. If you are interested in supporting this event, please contact Tiffany Hightower, the Executive Director of the ILBCF at executivedirector@ilbcf.org or 773-896-6805.  

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

2023-10-27T12:01:13-04:00October 27, 2023|Illinois|

Massachusetts

On October 26, the Senate unanimously passed SB (Senate Bill) 2480 which will authorize pharmacists to prescribe, dispense and administer HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) prevention drugs according to Department of Public Health and FDA (Food & Drug Administration) regulations and guidelines. The patient must prove they are HIV negative. The pharmacists may order an HIV test prior to prescribing and dispensing if the patient cannot provide proof of a negative HIV test. The pharmacist shall notify the patient that they will be required to be seen by a primary care provider to receive subsequent prescriptions for pre-exposure prophylaxis. A pharmacist shall not furnish a 60-day supply of pre-exposure prophylaxis to a single patient more than once every two years. The pharmacist shall notify the patient’s primary care provider following the dispensing of the drug and provide the patient with a list of local providers if the patient is not under the care of a provider. This bill will now be referred to the House of Representative for its consideration. As was the case last session, this bill will be referred to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing from where it can be considered as a stand-alone bill or as part of the debate on a comprehensive healthcare reform bill which we expect to begin in the Senate soon. 

The Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy posted it’s agenda for the November 2 meeting. Three policies are on the agenda as follows:  

  • Policy 14-02: Board Delegated Review (BDR): The “unknown loss protocol” was removed from the policy since the Board voted for a new “controlled substance loss protocol” at the October meeting. Also added was the ability for BDR to issue a reprimand for the loss of less than #100 units of a Schedule II controlled substance.  
  • Policy 2021-04: Continuing Education (CE) Requirements for Pharmacists: Details for the required pain management training for collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) pharmacists were added to the CE policy. With this addition, we request that the advisory titled “Pain Management Training for CDTM Pharmacists” be rescinded.  
  • Policy 2023-01: Compliance Packaging and Reusable Dose Planners: The change to this policy allows Schedule II and III maintenance medications to be placed in multidrug-single-dose compliance packages. 

MassHealth posted its October monthly bulletin that announced the start dates for enforcing the ordering, referring, and prescribing (ORP) requirements. Except the information in this bulletin, all information in APB 361 and APB 376 remains in effect. Due to necessary system updates, the start date to enforce the requirement that claims processed by the Pharmacy Online Processing System (POPS) must include a prescriber who is actively enrolled with MassHealth will be delayed. This requirement will be enforced for service dates on or after May 1, 2024. Pharmacies should continue reviewing informational messages related to this requirement to avoid ORP-related denials when enforcement takes effect. 

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

2023-10-27T12:00:07-04:00October 27, 2023|Massachusetts|

Minnesota

The Department of Health (MDH) has posted updated information regarding the expansion of prescription drug transparency data under Chapter 70 passed in 2023. The law requires wholesalers, PBMs and pharmacies to report pricing data on drugs of significant public interest in 2024. MDH is developing an online reporting portal for the new stream. Pharmacies will be required to register. The department will release draft guidance in late 2023 for public comment, prior to finalizing the guidance in early 2024. The department is also preparing to release the first list of drugs requiring reporting by January 31, 2024. Pharmacies interested in receiving announcements on prescription drug price transparency may subscribe to Prescription Drug Price Transparency updates.

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

2023-10-27T11:58:53-04:00October 27, 2023|Minnesota|

Nevada

The Legislative Commission appointed Interim Committee positions. Senator Fabian Donate (D), the co-Majority Whip as the Chair the Interim Committee on Health and Human Services, and Assemblyman David Orentlicher (D) to serve as Vice-Chair.

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

2023-10-27T11:56:39-04:00October 27, 2023|Nevada|

New York

Medicaid posted a COVID-19 vaccine billing guidance for this season. The Medicaid “Pharmacists as Immunizers Fact Sheet” has information on how to bill for vaccines for over and under 19 years of age and a link to the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program. Please be advised that Medicaid does reimburse for the COVID-19 vaccine and administration at Medicaid qualified pharmacies for adults 19 years of age and older. Children under the age of 19 years are vaccinated for COVID-19 and all other ACIP–recommended vaccines at VFC enrolled providers, including their practitioner’s office, public health clinics or, in most areas, their county health department. At this time, pharmacies dually enrolled in Medicaid and VFC may also immunize children between the ages of 3 to under 19 years of age for COVID-19, and ages of 2 to under 19 years for influenza, in accordance with the federal PREP (Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness) Act and/or state law.

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

2023-10-27T11:56:05-04:00October 27, 2023|New York|

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