The Health and Human Services Department published the quarterly Medicaid preferred specialty drug list.

Also in Texas…HB 577 / SB 420, legislation that pharmacies support that would eliminate the requirement to check the prescription monitoring program when refilling certain controlled substances prescriptions, was introduced at the request of NACDS by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D) and Sen. Dawn Buckingham. SB 420 was referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee which makes it now eligible for an early hearing.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

The Health and Human Services Department published the quarterly Medicaid preferred specialty drug list.

Also in Texas…HB 577/SB 420, legislation that pharmacies support that would eliminate the requirement to check the prescription monitoring program when refilling certain controlled substances prescriptions, were introduced at the request of NACDS by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D) and Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R).

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

NACDS submitted comments to the Health and Human Services Commission in support of a draft policy to limit opioid prescriptions to a maximum of seven days for opioid naïve clients across all of Medicaid, including traditional fee-for-service and managed care.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

NACDS submitted comments to the Health and Human Services Commission in support of a draft policy to limit opioid prescriptions to a maximum of seven days for opioid naïve clients across all of Medicaid, including traditional fee-for-service and managed care.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

On October 30, NACDS, in partnership with seven pharmacy groups in Texas, hosted a Pharmacy Advocacy Training Day at the Capitol. The purpose of the meeting was to educate pharmacists on how to discuss issues with legislators and staff. The Executive Director of the Board of Pharmacy Allison Benz welcomed the 65 chain and independent pharmacists, encouraging them to be active in their various associations, and to engage both at the Capitol and the Board of Pharmacy meetings. A Senior Advisor for Gov. Greg Abbott (R) applauded the pharmacy groups for coming to the Capitol united on certain issues. Media pundits from the Quorum Report and Texas Tribune shared insights on Texas politics and the Speaker of the House’s race. Rep. Donna Howard (D) and Rep. Drew Darby’s (R) Chief of Staff offered advice on how to present issues to legislators and staff. Prior to the afternoon group meetings scheduled with 78 legislative offices, pharmacists engaged in role playing activities to hone their skills.

Also in Texas…The Health and Human Services Commission Vendor Drug Program (VDP) announced that they expanded the age range for optional coverage of the flu vaccine through the pharmacy benefit as of October 19. With this change, plans have the option to allow pharmacies to bill for flu vaccines provided to beneficiaries ages seven years and older in a pharmacy setting.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

Recently appointed Board of Pharmacy public member, Daniel Guerrero of San Marcos, toured an HEB pharmacy where pharmacy staff demonstrated the basics of how a prescription is filled. They also administered a flu shot and discussed the pharmacist’s role in providing immunizations, health care screenings and MTM.

Also in Texas… At the recent hearing of the Joint Interim Committee on Prescribing and Dispensing Controlled Substances, two chain pharmacists testified on behalf of NACDS and the Texas Federation of Drug Stores. Jeremy Ashley with Brookshire Grocery Company urged lawmakers to support mandatory e-prescribing of controlled substances. Tomson George with Walgreens asked that legislators clarify the requirement that pharmacists are not required to check the prescription monitoring program for refill medications specified in HB 2561 signed into law last year.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

NACDS and five in-state partners submitted a letter to the Health and Human Services Commission’s Vendor Drug Program Medicaid Director encouraging open formulary access to the flu vaccine for patients ages 7 years and older so flu vaccines may be administered by a pharmacist and billed to the prescription benefit, without going through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. In our letter, we cited data that shows that open formulary access could improve patient access and save Texas money by eliminating the barriers posed by VFC to pharmacy participation.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

The Health and Human Services Commission’s Vendor Drug Program announced that on Monday, September 24, they will decrease the daily morphine equivalent dose (MED) limit for people enrolled in the traditional Medicaid fee-for-service program. The new limit will be set at 160 and applied to all opioid prescriptions with exceptions for those people diagnosed with cancer or those receiving palliative or hospice care.

Also in Texas…At its August 7 meeting, the Board of Pharmacy elected pharmacy technician Bradley Miller as vice president and pharmacist Donnie Lewis as treasurer.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.

The Medicaid preferred drug list (PDL) was again revised effective July 27 to include several products that were inadvertently listed as non-preferred. The PDL is also available through the Epocrates drug information system.

For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.