Last week, NACDS joined over 700 pharmacists and pharmacy interns in meetings with state legislators to urge passage of several key pieces of legislation including allowing pharmacy interns to immunize, allow comprehensive medication management in the community pharmacy setting and recognition of pharmacy technicians in statute and regulation.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Both the Assembly and the Senate reacted this week to the governor’s budget proposal that would impose a tax on opioids sold in the state. Although characterized as a tax on manufacturers, the proposal would in many cases be a tax on pharmacy since it would require that the establishment that makes the first sale of the product in New York to pay the tax with no ability to pass it on. Given that pharmacies often make the first sale, this proposal would greatly impact pharmacies. Fortunately, while the Assembly’s budget proposal does retain the governor’s opioid tax, it specifies that for calculating the first sale for tax purposes, the state cannot include any sales to pharmacies. The Senate budget proposal totally eliminates the tax proposal. This issue will now go to a conference of the Assembly, Senate and the governor’s office to be resolved before the Sunday, April 1 budget deadline.
Also in New York…After a year of discussions with Medicaid staff, numerous meetings with legislative leadership and key Administration staff, as part of the New York State budget proposal, the Governor recommended an eight-cent increase in the Medicaid fee-for-service professional dispensing fee raising the fee from $10.00 to $10.08. This week, both the Assembly and the Senate concurred with the increase.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced he is advancing a 30-day budget amendment that would codify an Executive Order temporarily allowing pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children ages two to 18 years. If enacted, this legislation would permanently suspend the section of the state education law that limits the authority of pharmacists to administer immunizing agents to anyone under 18 years of age. The budget amendment also includes language to encourage pharmacies to enroll in the New York State Vaccines for Children Program, which provides vaccines to children and individuals regardless of their ability to pay.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an emergency order which allows pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children ages two to 18 years. Subsequently, NACDS worked with the Chain Pharmacy Association of New York State and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) on implementation concerns. Over the weekend, Howard Zucker, Commissioner of DOH, signed a statewide, non-patient specific order for licensed pharmacists with a certificate of administration issued by the New York State Education Department to vaccinate patients ages two years to 18 years against seasonal influenza.
Also in New York…NACDS and the Chain Pharmacy Association of New York State met with state Medicaid staff and were advised that the changes to Medicaid fee-for-service pharmacy reimbursement using NADAC plus a $10.00 professional dispensing fee will be implemented effective Thursday, February 22, on a prospective basis. Staff do not yet know when retroactive adjustments to April 1, 2017, will be made.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
NACDS joined the New York State pharmacy associations in a Medicaid meeting to discuss details of the Governor’s budget proposal. New details include that the Medicaid Managed Care Medication Adherence provision would allow managed care plans to consider—not mandate—medication synchronization. Of high interest is a new proposal to institute an opioid surcharge of two cents per morphine milligram equivalent on the first sale of opioid prescriptions in the state. At the meeting, the state confirmed that they would target pharmacies as the first sale in the state. The state anticipates this will generate $170 million the first year of implementation. The stated goal of the surcharge is to prevent opioid addiction and prescribing. The budget will be completed by Sunday, April 1.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.
CMS has approved the State Department of Health’s Medicaid State Plan Amendment for cost-based reimbursement plus a $10.00 professional dispensing fee retroactive to April 1, 2017 for the Medicaid fee-for-service program. The new professional dispensing fee is $10.00 per prescription or written order by a practitioner and does not apply to over-the-counter products that do not meet the definition of a covered outpatient drug per section 1927K of the Social Security Act. The following are changes to product reimbursement in the Medicaid fee-for-service program:
The state will initiate the reimbursement changes in two phases. In the near future, the State intends to give pharmacies two weeks’ notice that the new rate will be initiated on all Medicaid fee-for-service claims. After the successful roll out of the claims processing with the new rates, the State will begin a retroactive adjustment of past claims. The adjustment will be spread out over a period of time.
For more information, please contact NACDS’ Ben Pearlman at 617-515-2603.