Legislation that would allow the state Auditor General to have access to PBM’s data from the Medicaid Managed Care program passed the House unanimously this week. House Bill 1630, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R), now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Also in Pennsylvania, the Board of Pharmacy has posted the agenda for their September 27th meeting. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

The Wolf Administration issued a press release announcing they have amended the Physician General’s Naloxone Standing Order to include ZIMHI. The announcement encouraged state residents to print the standing order and bring it to pharmacies to request the prescription. NACDS reminds members that PA has a program to reimburse pharmacies for Naloxone copays when the customer is reluctant to fill a script due to the copay cost. This federally funded program runs on the current PACE adjudication platform but is open to any Pennsylvanian regardless of whether they have state or private/commercial insurance.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Gov. Wolf (D) has signed HB 2679 as Act 80 of 2022. The law, which was effective upon signing, allows pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer COVID and flu vaccines to children down to the age of 5. The bill also makes a few COVID pharmacy waivers permanent related to pharmacist supervision of other vaccinators.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Legislation that would allow pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer COVID and flu vaccines to children down to the age of 5 advanced in both Chambers this week. HB (House Bill) 2679 was reported from the House Professional Licensure Committee and is poised for a vote by the full House next week. The Senate Professional Licensure Committee also amended SB (Senate Bill) 511 to match the language in HB 2679 and unanimously reported it to the full Senate for consideration. The intent is to deliver one of these bills to the Governor’s desk before adjournment for summer recess. However, if the General Assembly adjourns early, we are optimistic that the process can be completed in the fall, prior to sine die.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

The House Professional Licensure Committee will consider HB 2679 on June 20. The bill, introduced by the Majority and Minority Chairs of the Committee, represents a compromise agreement that would expand pharmacists’ immunization authority by allowing the administration of influenza and COVID vaccines down to age 5. Currently, pharmacists can only vaccinate children for flu starting at the age of 9.  

Also in Pennsylvania, the Board of Pharmacy has posted the agenda for the June 28 meeting. Members can access the meeting virtually and log-in instructions are included in the agenda. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

The PACE Program has issued two Provider Bulletins: PPB-22-007 details a change in the Submission Clarification Code to be used on the first fill (shortened fill) in Medication Synchronization. PPB-22-009 details changes in Copay Collection on Incremental Fills. Both changes will be effective Monday, June 13, 2022.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

The Board of Pharmacy has published its agenda for the May 10 meeting. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format and information for joining is included in the agenda.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Long-awaited Board of Pharmacy regulations allowing pharmacy interns to immunize have been released in final form by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC), where they are scheduled for a vote on May 19. After IRRC passage, the regulations will go to the Attorney General and be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The regulations will be final 30 days after the official publication date. The rulemaking is pursuant to the Pharmacy Act amendments made by Act 8 of 2015, the same law that allowed pharmacists to administer influenza vaccines to children aged 9 years and older.  

Also in Pennsylvania, the PACE program issued a bulletin regarding Program audit procedures. It includes clarification regarding who is responsible for providing information related to the requested documents. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.

Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson issued an updated naloxone standing order to include a form of eight milligram naloxone nasal spray. NACDS reminds members that Pennsylvania has a broad program that will reimburse pharmacies for patient copayments for naloxone when the patient is hesitant to pay and any patient with any type of insurance coverage is eligible. For more detail, see the program bulletin and detailed adjudication specifications. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-525-8962. 

Tennessee: Renee Williams-Clark has left TennCare as Chief Pharmacy Officer. Lorraine Buerhaus has been named interim CPO. Pharmacists interested in applying for this position can do so here.  

Also in Tennessee, The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) will present its free online seminar, “Diversion is a Threat to Patient Safety: Adopting Best Practices for Safe Management of Controlled Substances,“ on April 6, 1-2 pm ET. 

For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.