This week both houses of the state legislature overwhelmingly approved HB 4348 which would help enhance patient access to pharmacy services and enhance transparency into the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The legislation will now go to Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D). The Governor has indicated that she does intend to sign the proposal into law.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
At the June quarterly Michigan Medicaid pharmacy provider liaison meeting, companies asked that Medicaid provide each of their corporate staff a list of claims for their respective stores tied to Medicaid errors that may have caused processing errors regarding cost share responsibility. They wanted their corporate staff to reprocess the claims for the stores and determine if there are any issues with the claims. Michigan Medicaid staff is looking for the most appropriate contact for each company. Medicaid is looking for each company to email a list of their pharmacy NPIs to MDHHSPharmacyServices@michigan.gov.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has asked NACDS how pharmacies are billing insurances/payers for the COVID-19 home/point-of-care testing devices able to be purchased at pharmacy locations. In specific the department wants to know if the billings are through the payer’s medical benefit for a medical claim. CMS recently released some guidance requiring State Medicaid and CHIP programs to cover these home COVID testing solutions.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has scheduled a Medicaid Pharmacy Provider Liaison meeting to allow Medicaid staff and Medicaid Pharmacy Providers to meet and discuss policy and operational issues. This quarter’s Pharmacy Liaison Meeting Notice contains the link and phone number to join, and will take place Thursday, September 9th from 2:30-4:30pm.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Mark Glasper has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer for the Michigan Pharmacists Association. He formerly served as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association. Please see the press release to learn more.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (R) signed into law SB 920, which provides regulatory relief through the remaining course of the state emergency declaration. Provisions include emergency refills, therapeutic interchange, and remote supervision of technicians and other staff. Most of these provisions were lost previously when Gov. Whitmer’s Executive Orders either lapsed or were invalidated by the State Supreme Court.
Also in Michigan, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a bulletin with coverage and reimbursement information for pharmacies administering the COVID-19 vaccine. Please visit the above link for more details on the bulletin.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
In the first week of its lame-duck session, the Senate passed SB 920, legislation with pharmacy regulatory relief provisions that were rescinded when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) Executive Orders either lapsed or were invalidated by the State Supreme Court. Key provisions pertain to emergency refills, therapeutic interchange, remote supervision, and out of state licensing. It is unclear if or how the House can act on the legislation, however, given the cancelation of session days due to the COVID-19 outbreak among House members and staff coinciding with last week’s visit from Rudy Guliani.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
The Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is regularly updating its document entitled “COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Providers” and recommends bookmarking the website to ensure you are accessing the most up-to-date version. Please visit the above websites for more information.
Also in Michigan. The MDHHS Division of Immunizations has released a new online COVID-19 Provider Vaccination Registration form. Pharmacies who plan to participate in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine may now enroll. There is also a sample COVID-19 Provider Registration form and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that has information on how to enroll in the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) which is a pre-requisite to applying to be a COVID-19 provider.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed into law HB 6293, legislation authorizing pharmacies to order a laboratory test that is classified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as moderate or high complexity for the purposes of administering COVID-19 testing services. The law became effective November 5 and expires on June 30, 2021.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.