The news are full of excitement regarding a recent US Supreme court decision in Rutledge v PCMA. But there is still lots of confusion what this decision means for independent pharmacies.
So let’s look at what the case is really about.
It all started in Arkansas when the state passed Act 900, which provided that:
Currently, California pharmacies must report dispensing of Schedules II-IV to CURES (California’s PDMP database) “as soon as reasonably possible, but no more than 7 days after a controlled substance is dispensed.”
Effective January 1, 2021, California pharmacies will have to report the dispensing of a controlled substance prescription to CURES no more than one working
Every healthcare provider has at least one problematic patient who demands extra attention. Some of these patients continue to cause troubles even after they are “discharged.” A recent case coming from Utah illustrates this.
Ms. Reynolds was a regular customer of Kent’s Market pharmacy. On many occasions, she complained to the pharmacy staff about the
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an amendment to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA) allowing pharmacies to perform vaccination to children ages three through 18 as per ACIP’s standard immunization schedule.
In July, 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a survey to assess the
Recently, we have seen many cases filed by whistleblowers against pharmacies for not properly reporting their Usual-and-Customary Drug Prices (U&C). The cases are usually filed under the False Claims Act (FCA) for manipulating U&C to receive greater reimbursements from government payors.
First of all, what is U&C? There is no uniform definition. Instead, third-party payor
Many pharmacy owners wonder if contracting with Medicare directly (as a Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (“DMEPOS”) provider) adds value to a pharmacy business. The answer depends on whether the sale of the pharmacy is structured as an asset or a stock purchase.
Asset purchase
To become a DMEPOS provider under Medicare Part
A group of independent pharmacies filed a lawsuit against OptumRx alleging various unfair/illegal business practices, such as reimbursements below cost, price manipulations, discriminatory treatment. Mark Cuker of the Jacobson Law Group filed the case in Pennsylvania and Illinois on behalf of independent pharmacies, and he is looking into filing a similar action in California.
This
Pharmacists – being the most accessible healthcare providers – can prove to be invaluable during the current pandemic. With the passage of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA), pharmacists now can order and provide COVID-testing. Many pharmacies have already started providing testing through their drive-up stations and home visits to quarantined patients.
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
CVS has been dominating the news lately: CVS-Aetna merger, CVS’s free drug deliveries, its efforts to curb opioid epidemic, etc. This post is about a recent litigation commenced by CVS against its ex-executive John Lavin to prevent him from working for a competitor, Pill Pack. After Amazon purchased PillPack last year, CVS’s