SB 617, legislation introduced by Sen. Steve Glazer (D), Chair of the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, would allow pharmacies with collective bargaining agreements and meeting certain requirements to petition the Board of Pharmacy to increase the pharmacy technician to pharmacist ratio from 1:1 to 3:1. The bill was amended and passed the Committee on April 22 and has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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

Last week, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Medi-Cal hosted a webinar to provide pharmacy stakeholders with more information on the rollout of the retroactive claim adjustments for the dates of service — April 1, 2017 through February 23, 2019, which was the date DHCS began implementing the new fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement methodology.

Also in California… Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed practicing pediatrician and director of health and social impact for Los Angeles County, Mark Ghaly, as Secretary of Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) to help lead the administration’s efforts to advance the Governor’s healthcare agenda, including proposals to lower prescription drug costs, provide coverage to young undocumented adults through Medi-Cal and help put California on a path toward single-payer health care.

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

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced that they are targeting the Medi-Cal pharmacy fee-for-service reimbursement rate changes to begin Saturday, February 23. DHCS will retroactively adjust impacted claims with dates of service between April 1, 2017 and February 23, 2019.

Also in California…The Department of Health Care Services is reminding pharmacies that the online attestation portal opened for fee-for-service Medi-Cal pharmacy providers seeking the higher of two professional dispensing fees as part of the forthcoming reimbursement changes for covered outpatient drugs will end on Thursday, February 28.

Also in California… NACDS and the California Retailers Association submitted a joint letter to the Senate Business and Professions Committee in support of AB 149, legislation allowing for a staggered implementation of the new serialized number requirement. Under AB 149, serialized numbers on security forms for controlled substances would take effect no later than Wednesday, January 1, 2020. In addition, the measure would authorize dispensers to fill prescriptions written on otherwise valid forms that do not meet the new serialized number requirement until Friday, January 1, 2021.

Also in California… Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order last month that seeks to create a single purchaser for prescription drugs. Specifically, the order seeks to create negotiating leverage for prescription drug costs by moving all purchasing of high-cost, “high-priority” pharmaceuticals to one entity and, with respect to Medi-Cal, all pharmacy services to fee-for-service.

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

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced that they are targeting the Medi-Cal pharmacy fee-for-service reimbursement rate changes to begin Saturday, February 23, meaning that DHCS will retroactively adjust impacted claims with dates of service between April 1, 2017 and the targeted February 23 date of implementation.

Also in California…On January 15, the online attestation portal opened for Medi-Cal fee-for-service pharmacy providers seeking the higher of two professional dispensing fees as part of the forthcoming reimbursement changes for covered outpatient drugs.

Also in California…On January 28, NACDS and the California Retailers Association submitted a joint letter to the Senate Business and Professions Committee in support of AB 149, legislation allowing for a staggered implementation of the new serialized number requirement. Under AB 149, serialized numbers on security forms for controlled substances would take effect no later than Wednesday, January 1, 2020. In addition, the measure would authorize dispensers to fill prescriptions written on otherwise valid forms that do not meet the new serialized number requirement until Friday, January 1, 2021.

Also in California…On January 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order that seeks to create a single purchaser for prescription drugs. Specifically, the order seeks to create negotiating leverage for prescription drug costs by moving all purchasing of high-cost, “high-priority” pharmaceuticals to one entity and, with respect to Medi-Cal, all pharmacy services to fee-for-service.

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

Effective October 28, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) lifted its moratorium on the enrollment of pharmacy providers for the Medi-Cal fee-for-service program in Los Angeles County. For more information, contact the Provider Enrollment Message Center at 916-323-1945 or submit your question via e-mail or NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

Also in California…In mid-November, DHCS will publish an article in the Medi-Cal Pharmacy Updates bulletin informing providers seeking the higher of the two professional dispensing fees on drug claims for Fiscal Year 2019-20 that the next attestation will start in January 2019 for calendar year 2018 claim volume. If your company would like to centralize the coordination of attestations, please contact Trudi Balestreri.

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

Pharmacies installing or discontinuing drug take-back collection receptacles can now electronically notify the Board of Pharmacy. Requirements for drug take-back services, including collection receptacles and mail-back envelopes, are in California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Article 9.1.

Also in California…The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced plans to implement a new Medi-Cal fee-for-service cost-based reimbursement methodology in late 2018. After system implementation, DHCS intends to make retroactive adjustments for all claims with dates of service between April 1, 2017, and the date of system implementation.

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

As required by AB 40 that was signed into law last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) established a method of system integration whereby approved healthcare practitioners and pharmacists may use a qualified health information technology system to access information in the CURES database. This week, DOJ launched the CURES Information Exchange Web Service (IEWS), creating a webpage that provides instructions on how to sign up.

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

Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law AB 2789. Effective January 1, 2022, this newly enacted law will require healthcare practitioners authorized to issue prescriptions to have the capability to e-prescribe and would require pharmacies to have the capability to receive these electronic prescriptions. The bill also requires those healthcare practitioners to transmit prescriptions electronically, unless specified exemptions are met. The bill does not require the pharmacy to verify that a written, oral, or faxed prescription satisfies the specified exemptions. Please also see the article in the main body of CEO Issue Update.

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