On March 10, 2020, CMS issued guidance to Part D sponsors urging them to relax some of the requirements that could disrupt access to medications due to the coronavirus outbreak. It recommended that Part D sponsors take the following steps:
So far, the California State Board of Pharmacy has issued the following waivers relaxing some requirements due to the coronavirus outbreak:
This waiver provides that a sterile compounding pharmacy whose license expires on or before May 1, 2020, may have its license renewed without
Many prescribers’ offices are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving many pharmacies unable to obtain fill authorizations for patients.
Under California law, pharmacies may refill prescriptions without prescriber authorization if:
We are very excited to announce a launching of a website for pharmacy compliance: RxPolicy. It assists pharmacies with ever-growing compliance requirements. Pharmacies can download the pharmacy operational manual in full with automatic yearly updates or can just pick one policy. Policies will be updated on a yearly basis and new policies and documents to
In 2016, CMS published its Final Rule regarding Medicaid drug reimbursements for covered outpatient drugs. Under the Rule, each state Medicaid agency was required to adopt an actual acquisition cost (AAC) methodology for outpatient prescription drug reimbursement. To satisfy this requirement, California adopted CMS’s National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) as the basis for AAC
Do you purchase test strips from suppliers authorized by manufacturers to distribute these products? If not, you may face significant chargebacks and contractual termination when PBMs audit your pharmacy’s test strips invoices.
Virtually all PBM require test strips to be purchased from the suppliers expressly authorized by manufacturers to distribute their products. Most PBM manuals
As prescription drug spending continues to increase, governments continue to scrutinize arrangements between pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, assistance programs, and patients. For example, recently, two non-profit foundations – Chronic Disease Fund, Inc. (“CDF”) and Patient Access Network Foundation (“PANF”) – have agreed to pay $2 million and $4 million, respectively, to resolve allegations that they
A recent report released by California health officials revealed that drug prices are still on the rise – even despite California’s drug-price transparency laws aimed at curbing drug cost.
In 2017, California passed a drug-price transparency law that requires manufacturers to notify its customers at least 60 days in advance if they plan to increase
As always, the American Society for Pharmacy Law (“ASPL”) gathered pharmacy attorneys and pharmacists for an excellent three-day conference focusing on pharmacy legal issues. Some of the highlights of the conference:
Regulatory updates: Despite various state and federal attempts to lower drug prices, they continue to grow mostly due to high deductible plans, cost-sharing, increased
Only a few exceptions exist to the rule that a pharmacist must dispense pursuant to a valid prescription. Such exceptions are: furnishing emergency contraceptives, hormonal contraceptives, and naloxone hydrochloride. Beginning next year, pharmacists in California also will be able to dispense HIV prevention drugs without prescriptions.
Senate Bill 159 authorizes pharmacists to furnish a 30-day