The Senate Budget Chairs have continued productive discussions with the House regarding joint budget allocations. However, the budget conference will not begin next week. Senators have been informed that they will not need to return to Tallahassee before Memorial Day.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
NACDS submitted comments to the Board of Pharmacy in support of proposed rules eliminating the current maximum pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratios across various pharmacy settings. Instead, the proposed rules would allow supervising pharmacists to determine the number of technicians under their oversight, thereby enabling pharmacies to optimize the use of pharmacy technicians to perform technical and administrative tasks and allowing pharmacists to dedicate more time to direct patient care.
Also in Florida, the State Legislature has passed a concurrent resolution to extend the Legislative Session until 11:59 pm on June 6, in accordance with Section 3(d), Article III of the State Constitution. All other measures in both houses were indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration of the respective House as of 12:00 am on May 3. The Legislature will only be considering bills related to the budget during the extension. Senate President Ben Albritton (R) issued a statement on the 60th day of the 2025 legislative session, announcing that the Senate has developed "a framework for a budget plan and a tentative schedule to move forward" in agreement with the House. As part of this agreement, the Senate and House are proposing a historic $2.8 billion in tax relief. The Legislature is expected to return to Tallahassee the week of May 12 to hash out differing ideas about the spending plan for the coming fiscal year.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued Executive Order Number 25-44, creating the state's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force, which will work to further eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money and ensure accountability in the state.
Also in Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) scheduled a workshop for Rule 59G-4.002, F.A.C., Provider Reimbursement Schedules and Billing Codes, for March 11 from 10:00 am to 10:30 am at AHCA, 2727 Mahan Drive, Building 3, Tallahassee, FL 32308. A virtual option or call-in number will not be available for this meeting. Official notice of the meeting was published in Vol. 51/No. 38 of the Florida Administrative Register (FAR) on February 25. A copy of the notice may be found at https://flrules.org/Gateway/View_notice.asp?id=29291301; click on "View Notice". Please note that a preliminary draft of the reference material, if available, will be posted prior to the meeting on the Rules Web page.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Florida Pharmacy Association is hosting an upcoming ACPE–approved conference on February 22-23 via Zoom, focused exclusively on Women’s Health and care for these patients. Register here!
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) contracts with Medicaid health and dental plans to provide State Plan services to health plan enrollees in the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program. The Agency recently contracted with health and dental plans effective February 1, 2025. In this new iteration of SMMC, the Medicaid regions have been realigned into nine regions from eleven. The regional naming convention has also changed, with regions 1-9 have become regions A-I. The Agency has posted a map of the regional changes ,a list of the plans by type, and plan coverage. Visit the Agency’s SMMC 3.0 webpage for more information. Please refer to the SMMC 3.0 website for more information.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an Emergency Order (EO) on January 20, EO 25-13 ,declaring a state of emergency, which allows for state officials to make critical resources available to communities ahead of any potential storm impacts.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Florida Administrative Register has published a proposed rule RE: “Definition of Compounding”; see the lower left and upper right sections of page 4574.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Agency for Health Care Administration will ensure reimbursement for all services provided in good faith to eligible Florida Medicaid recipients residing in the Florida counties affected by Hurricane Milton.
For providers within the State of Florida, along with out-of-state providers who are not enrolled with Florida Medicaid and who provided services to our displaced Florida residents, Florida Medicaid created a provisional provider enrollment process. Florida Medicaid has waived some initial requirements for providers to submit normally required information and documentation when applying for provisional enrollment. Details have been published in the “Florida Medicaid Health Care Alert” issued-on October 15, 2024.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
In anticipation of the impact of Hurricane Milton, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued Executive Order (EO) 24-215, amending EO 24-214 and declaring a state of emergency for 51 counties. The State Surgeon General signed Emergency Order 24-003, which among other items, permits pharmacies and prescription department managers to operate in multiple or mobile locations.
Also in Florida, effective September 30, Florida’s minimum wage increased from $12.00 per hour to $13.00 per hour. This increase is a result of Constitutional Amendment No. 2 passed by voters in the 2020 election. In accordance with the amendment, the minimum wage is set for annual increases on the path to a $15 minimum wage by September 30, 2026. The requirement applies to both public and private employers, regardless of size. Florida Statutes requires employers who must pay their employees the Florida minimum wage to post a minimum wage notice in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where these employees work. Please download the updated 2024-2025 minimum wage poster and display accordingly to ensure you are following posting requirements.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
