The Department for Public Health recently updated the Yellow Fever Vaccination Center Application to allow pharmacists to apply to participate. Further detail can be found on the Office of Epidemiology webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Pharmacies can now bill Medicaid for vaccines administered to children enrolled in the Medicaid program, regardless of the pharmacy’s participation in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The change is a result of a rule recently adopted and effective as of March 9, 2023. The rule revised the VFC program regulatory requirements by deleting the language in Section 2 of 907 KAR 1:680 that had previously expressly prohibited Medicaid from “making] payment to a provider for the cost of a vaccine available through the Vaccines for Children Program.” Please reference the As Amended Proposed Rule to see the changes as engrossed in the FInal Rule.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
SB 37 was amended in the Senate reforms the Board of Pharmacy Advisory Council to add seats for mail order, specialty, hospital, veterinary, and independent pharmacists. Subsequently, the bill was reported by the House Health Services Committee and is expected to pass the House as currently drafted. The bill began as a piece of legislation that would have re-vamped the Board of Pharmacy composition with dedicated seats for different practice settings, including PBMs and mail order. However, an agreement was reached with the sponsor to instead change the composition of the Advisory Council. The General Assembly is set to adjourn at the end of this week.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Board of Pharmacy held a “special called” meeting on January 4 where they withdrew a new regulation and proposed rule amendments regarding out-of-state pharmacies. The rules would have created a new non-resident pharmacist license requirement for out-of-state pharmacists and stricter requirements for an out-of-state pharmacy to acquire a non-resident pharmacy permit. At the meeting, it was stated that the withdrawal was due to the voluminous number of public comments they received.
Following this, two Senate bills were introduced last week:
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Kentucky Pharmacy Education & Research Foundation (KPERF), the Kentucky Pharmacists Association’s tax-exempt charitable foundation, recently announced a funding opportunity for pharmacist-led non-invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) screening for which they are seeking pharmacy applicants. They will choose six pharmacies based on their readiness, the expectation that they can see ten patients per month, their geographical location in Kentucky and the needs of their community. As a reminder, in 2021, the Board of Pharmacy approved a colorectal cancer screening protocol allowing pharmacists to initiate the dispensing of noninvasive stool-based CRC screening patients aged 45-85 years at average risk for colorectal cancer. For more information on this protocol and all pharmacy protocols approved in the state, click here.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Magellan published a provider notice outlining September Preferred Drug List changes in Medicaid.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Patients and pharmacies in the Commonwealth took a giant leap forward this week when Anthem announced they will be enrolling pharmacists as network providers. The move is a result of the enactment of a law that provides for pharmacy payment parity; HB 48 of 2021 required Kentucky health plans to reimburse pharmacists for services within a pharmacist’s scope of practice that are otherwise covered by the plan, if provided by another healthcare provider. Coupled with a pharmacist’s current authority to provide more than a dozen clinical services under Board of Pharmacy Protocols, Anthem members will have widespread convenient access to treatment at pharmacies for ailments such as flu, strep and tobacco cessation. Pharmacies interested in enrolling in the network should contact kyprovidercontracting@anthem.com. For more information, please see the Kentucky Pharmacists Association’s (KPhA’s) latest news release. NACDS applauds KPhA for its work with Anthem and its leadership in our joint support for HB 48.
Also in Kentucky, Medicaid has proposed a rule that may make it easier for pharmacies to provide vaccine services to kids with Medicaid coverage. The rule change eliminates the requirement to use Vaccines for Children (VFC) stock and strikes current language that states Medicaid will not reimburse for the cost of any vaccine if already available through the VFC program. NACDS interprets this to mean that pharmacies do not have to be enrolled in VFC to immunize and be reimbursed for Medicaid-covered kids. NACDS is seeking member feedback to determine whether this change would be significant to your vaccination efforts. Please review this rule and send Jill McCormack your comments by November 18.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
As a result of the adoption of an Emergency Administrative Regulation, beginning October 1, 2022, MedImpact will pay pharmacies a dispensing fee of $10.64 for each prescription of Suboxone every 7 days, as written by the prescriber. Prior to the adoption of the new regulation, Medicaid would only pay the fee every 23 days. This will be practically implemented as one dispensing fee and up to three additional professional service fees per rolling 28-day period. To receive the professional service fees, the pharmacist is required to take additional steps, including checking KASPER and providing patient counseling. Additional information as well as adjudication details are included in this Bulletin.
Also in Kentucky, The Board of Pharmacy has issued the following proposed rules for public comment. Comments are due to the BOP on November 30 and contact details are on the last page of each rule.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
The Board of Pharmacy has filed an emergency and ordinary amendment to allow pharmacists to prescribe and receive Medicaid reimbursement for Paxlovid. Specifically, the amendment removes the list of specific conditions that require a Board-approved protocol for pharmacists to be authorized to treat patients with illnesses. Instead, the regulation would allow a pharmacist to utilize any protocol approved by the board to provide treatment services. This emergency amendment will allow for any prescriber–approved protocol to be reviewed for approval by the Board of Pharmacy. If the regulation is approved, the physician Director of Medicaid Services can also sign a prescriber–approved protocol for any pharmacist to initiate the dispensing of Paxlovid for Medicaid patients. Additionally, the board approved a new board authorized protocol for Paxlovid. The emergency regulation was effective immediately, but the ordinary version must be go through the promulgation process with the Board. NACDS expects the physician community to oppose this regulation and encourages members to join us in submitting supportive comments by September 30. Further detail and contact information for comments are on the regulation webpage.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.