Proposed Placement of Carisoprodol Into Schedule IV

The Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a proposed rule to place the substance carisoprodol into Schedule IV of the Controlled Substance Act. This proposed rule is based on a recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services and on an evaluation of the relevant data by DEA. Data from several databases shows that carisoprodol is abused in the United States. A number of states regulate carisoprodol under their controlled substance regulations. Written comments regarding the proposed federal rule must be submitted and postmarked by December 17, 2009 or submitted electronically before midnight EST on December 17. More information is available in the Federal Register and can be accessed at Regulations.gov using docket number DEA-333.
See More at NABP

IACP Letter to Senator Chris Dodd Regarding Investigation of Tamiflu Pricing

If anyone from our congressional delegation has asked you about Tamiflu Pricing and/or if you've heard the OK state AG's office is investigating, I thought the letter IACP sent to US Senator Chris Dodd may be helpful.

Dear Senator Dodd:
On November 18, 2009, you issued a press release requesting that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Attorney General investigate perceived price gouging by some pharmacies that provide compounded Tamiflu suspension for children. On behalf of the membership of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP), the national organization representing providers of personalized medication solutions, I can assure you that we do not condone the alleged activity you suggest is occurring. While IACP does not engage in the marketplace or pricing methodologies, perhaps we can provide some insight that will help you and your staff better understand this unique and important component of pharmacy practice. Read More

PECOS implemenation will be delayed until 4/5/2010…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will delay, until April 5, 2010, the implementation of Phase 2 of Change Request (CR) 6417 (Expansion of the Current Scope of Editing for Ordering/Referring Providers for Claims Processed by Medicare Carriers and Part B Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs)) and CR 6421 (Expansion of the Current Scope of Editing for Ordering/Referring Providers for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Supplier Claims Processed by Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MACs)). CRs 6417 and 6421 are applicable to Part B claims only.
The delay in implementing Phase 2 of these CRs will give physicians and non-physician practitioners who order items or services for Medicare beneficiaries or who refer Medicare beneficiaries to other Medicare providers or suppliers sufficient time to enroll in or take the action necessary to estabish a current enrollment record in Medicare prior to Phase 2 implementation.

Senate Votes on Motion to Proceed -Saturday November 21 ,2009

This evening, the Senate voted 60 to 39 to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to consideration of its health reform bill, clearing the way for further Senate consideration of healthcare reform. The vote was along party lines and should not be interpreted as an indication that Senate Leadership currently has the number of votes it will need to pass a final bill off the floor when debate begins post Thanksgiving. A number of moderate Democrats suggested they'd vote to allow debate to occur on the bill by voting for the motion to proceed, but would withhold their commitment to vote on final passage pending the outcome of key issues (e.g. public plan, abortion, treatment of illegals, taxes).

The Senate will now recess until after Thanksgiving, whereupon debate on the bill will resume and likely continue until the end of the year.

Senate Schedule for Health care Reform

• 5:00 today, Senator Majority Leader Reid is releasing the Dem HCR bill to the Dem caucus.
o CBO numbers and bill text will be made available then. Initial rumors are they are $15B short and looking to PhRMA to make up the difference.
o Reid will file for cloture on the motion to proceed on HCR. The motion will be filed on the shell/vehicle which will not be the House HCR bill. Instead, it will be a revenue bill that was generated in the House. That means, they may not even address the House bill.
• If cloture is invoked, debate on the motion is limited to 30 hours.
• Once the cloture motion is adopted and they are on the bill, Reid would offer his substitute.
• 48-50 hours to read the bill. It would take consent to dispense with the reading and Republicans are prepared to stay and switch their Senators on and off the floor to protect against the Democrats calling off the reading of the bill.

Health Care Reform Update - Senate Activity

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) continues to work to combine the Senate Finance Committee and Senate HELP Committee health care reform bills. Reid is waiting to introduce legislation until the CBO has completed its analysis and he has secured the necessary 60 votes required for Senate passage - a more difficult task than he originally envisioned.
• The Senate bill will include a public health insurance option that allows states to opt-out, a compromise that Reid hopes will attract the necessary Senate Democratic moderates to reach 60 votes.
• Senate Democratic leaders hope to release a final merged Senate health care reform bill after Veteran’s Day, which could enable Senate debate to begin the week of November 16. Even if Senate debate begins in two weeks, debate will continue into December because of the reduced November calendar. Because of time constraints and the desire to pass legislation this year, Reid has informed Members that the Senate will likely be in session on Saturdays throughout December. However, the Senate may be unable to pass health care reform legislation this year, which would push the debate into 2010 (an election year).

OPhA Pharmacy Law Seminar 2009

It's time once again for the annual OPhA Pharmacy Law Seminar. Eight (8)hours of Oklahoma State Board Approved CE credits for 2009. Date and Location for the event will be Sunday, December 6 in Oklahoma City at the OUHSC University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy. Topics include Pharmacy Safety & Security, Lawful Prescibing & Prevention of Diversion, The Controlled Substance Act: Issues for the Practicing Pharmacist, and other informative CE presentations. For more information & Registration...

New Point of Sale procedure via Humana: Very Important

Of High important: Pharmacists should understand the new Point of Sale procedure for dual eligibles who are not yet assigned to a Medicare Part D plan.
Beginning January 1st 2010, Humana will now operate the POS program. If you look at the details, Humana allows for retro billing of up to 36 months and also an open formulary. Keeping Optimistic, this should make life easier for pharmacists and beneficiaries.
Here is the link. Please note that there is a downloadable 4 step cheat sheet that pharmacist should keep handy. If they are having issues, they should call the Humana help desk for resolution.

Pharmacies on Advance Compounding of Tamiflu Oral Suspension

Commercially manufactured Tamiflu for Oral Suspension (12 mg/mL) is the preferred product for pediatric and adult patients who have difficulty swallowing capsules. However, preparation of an oral suspension from the 75 mg Tamiflu Capsules, as described in the FDA-approved labeling resulting in a concentration of 15 mg/ml, may be necessary when the commercial suspension, Tamiflu for Oral Suspension (12 mg/ml),for more FDA...

CMS Announces 21% Payment Cut for Physicians

WASHINGTON -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)confirmed the planned 21.2% physician payment cut for 2010 in a final rule released Friday. The reduction in physician payments for next year is tied to the sustainable growth rate... full story