AROUND PUTT
Where's The Vaccine?PUTTRx Medium
February 15, 2021 2021. So far for pharmacies, it's been a wild ride. The much anticipated advent of the COVID vaccine(s) has spawned additional issues with rollout and availability capabilities - many of which can be tied back to misinformation, corporate territorialism and lack of proper planning. Does anyone else hear a common PBM theme here? States that are excelling in the vaccination effort are those including their local independent pharmacies in all phases of distribution. In an MSNBC interview this month, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice noted that, “instead of letting vaccines sit on shelves we saw that our elderly wanted to go to their local pharmacies and clinics… We incorporated everybody together… and said we’re not going to let vaccines sit on shelves.” And, in a January interview on Face the Nation, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson remarked, “Our independent pharmacies are doing a better job of getting it (the vaccine) out. They’re acting with more urgency than the chain pharmacies.” The facts are that the CVS/Walgreens partnership was allocated more than 4.7 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but as of mid-January -- a month after rollout began in many states -- had only administered a quarter of those vaccines. Continue Reading |
ACROSS THE NATION
NAIC Considers PBM Regulation; Additional Requirements Possibly on TapJD Supra
April 13, 2021 Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) should consider the implications of a model law making its way through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that would establish a licensure requirement and rules of conduct for these participants in the health care marketplace. A number of states have already adopted their own PBM laws, and an NAIC model would be likely to motivate others to do so. On April 12, 2021, the NAIC’s Health Insurance and Managed Care Committee, meeting by videoconference at the NAIC’s Spring National Meeting, briefly discussed the PBM Model Act, agreeing to defer action until further consideration of additional features of PBM activities. This alert summarizes the principal features of the Model Act in its current form, minfdul that the NAIC may impose additional requirements on PBM conduct as the Model Act undergoes further consideration. The Model Act defines “pharmacy benefit manager” as an entity, “including a wholly or partially owned or controlled subsidiary” of a PBM, that provides “claims processing services” or “other prescription drug or device services” (each defined below) to covered persons (generally, health plan enrollees or dependents) who are residents of the adopting state, for health benefit plans. Continue Reading |
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