Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced that he is nominating Alison Beam to be the next Secretary of Health, with the departure of Dr. Rachel Levine to work in the Biden Administration. Prior to her nomination as the Secretary of Health, Ms. Beam served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Wolf. She also previously served as the Chief of Staff to the Insurance Commissioner. In that capacity, Alison guided interactions with regulators, legislators, and national trade associations and developed and implemented internal response strategies.
Also in Pennsylvania. With Sec. Levine’s departure, Pennsylvania Acting Physician General Wendy Braund has issued an updated standing order for Naloxone for the general public, effective January 23. Please visit the above link for more information.
Lastly in Pennsylvania. Following the receipt of a letter NACDS cosigned with the PA Pharmacy Coalition, the Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a revised Medical Assistance Bulletin announcing they will pay the Medicare rate for the COVID-19 administration fees retroactive to December 1. Claims do not need to be resubmitted. The Bulletin also clarified that the pharmacy NPI should be in the “billing and rendering provider” field; however, they still require an MA-enrolled prescriber’s NPI in the “referring prescriber” field. Additionally, they’ve added CPT codes for the future AstraZeneca vaccine.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.