With an effective date of November 27, the Insurance Division published ARC 8427C as adopted and filed emergency rule making related to timely payment of pharmacy claims.

Also in Iowa, the Insurance Division published ARC 8429C as a Notice of Intended Action. This Notice of Intent is to solicit public comment on the above emergency rulemaking; see ARC 8427C. This proposed rulemaking is related to timely payment of pharmacy claims and providing an opportunity for public comment. Written comments may to submitted to the Division no later than 4:30 pm on December 19. A public hearing will be held on December 19 from 10:00 am-11:00 am.

Finally in Iowa, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Medicaid posted INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2647-MC-FFS-D – January 2025 Medicaid Pharmacy Program Changes, effective January 1, 2025.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Iowa Pharmacy Association’s Board of Trustees received notice from Kate Gainer that she intends to step down as CEO, effective June 2025. Plans are underway to hire a search firm and appoint a search committee.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa Medicaid posted INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2641-MC-FFS-D – Ownership and Control Disclosure (OCD) Reminder effective upon receipt.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Inspections Appeals and Licensing issued the Professional Health Committee – Pharmacy meeting notice for November 6, 2024, at 11:00 am. Agendas are subject to change and may be revised up to 24 hours before the start of the meeting. Please check the DIAL Public Meeting Calendar to ensure you are viewing the current version. The next meeting for the committee will take place on December 4, 2024.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa Medicaid posted the following: 

• INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2631-FFS Update Regarding Pharmacy Prior Authorization (PA)
• INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2636-MC-FFS E&M Codes Rate Changes

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa Medicaid posted INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2630-MC-FFS 2024 Pharmacy Dispensing Fee Increase.  Effective October 1, 2024, the Iowa Medicaid dispensing fee increased from $10.38 to $10.63 based on the 2022 Cost of Dispensing survey.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa Medicaid posted the following: 

• INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2627-MC-FFS Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program: Administration Code Update
• INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2626-MC HHS Announces Winning Bidder for Iowa Health Link RFP (RFP MED-26-001)
• INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2625-MC-FFS-D October 2024 Iowa Medicaid Pharmacy Program Changes

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the intent to award a Managed Care Organization (MCO) contract to Iowa Total Care. The new Iowa Medicaid contract period begins July 1, 2025, with no change in operations. This RFP and resulting contract aligns all three MCO contracts (Iowa Total Care, Molina, and Wellpoint Iowa, Inc.) to provide health care services to Iowans to the same contract cycle. All three MCO contracts will have a final contract end date of June 30, 2031.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.

Board of Pharmacy was moved from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL). Upon the transition to DIAL, all health profession programs were combined into one with one set of rules, requiring a common naming convention. The Iowa Monitoring Program for Pharmacy Professionals (IMP3) will now be the Iowa Professional Health Program – Pharmacy (IPHP-Pharmacy). The program’s role is to provide pharmacy professionals and student pharmacists with support for recovery from substance use, mental health issues and other physical conditions.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Sandra Guckian at 703-774-4801.