Capitol Pulse Header
CPhA's Weekly Legislative Briefing
February 17, 2015


Welcome to this week's issue of the Capitol Pulse.
TOP STORY

CPhA to Sponsor MAC Pricing Legislation

The California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) today announced legislation for 2015 that will establish uniform standards for Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC)-based reimbursement to pharmacies. MAC-based reimbursement can lead to unpredictable and negative payments to pharmacies for generic drugs. This is a particularly pressing issue as many of those medications are experiencing exponential increases in cost. CPhA's sponsored legislation will achieve three things: (1) Require MAC lists to be transparent in their source and made available to pharmacies; (2) require MAC lists to be updated weekly; and (3) establish timeliness standards for appeals of MAC-based reimbursement.  "Pharmacists should be focused on caring for their patients, not preoccupied with the filling prescriptions for a loss," said CPhA CEO Jon Roth. "For too long MAC-based reimbursement has taken pharmacists' time away from their patients and forced many pharmacies to cease stocking some drugs, which hurts patients in the end. CPhA's legislation will establish fair standards so that pharmacies can continue to put patients first," stated Roth.

 

Board of Pharmacy Update:

The Board of Pharmacy has announced that they will be accepting public comments on the modified text to proposed regulations for sterile compounding. CPhA has been actively working with the Sterile Compounding Taskforce and the ACP board to address concerns with the modified text. Comments on the modified text are due this Friday, February 20th. CPhA will be submitting formal comments to the Board and will be sending out a template to ACP, APO, and AHP members, with instructions on how to send comments to the Board. Notice and modified text can be found on the board's website here 

 

Other Pharmacy-Related News

Should Terminally Ill Have the Right To Choose Their Death?

Five states allow terminally ill patients the right to ask for medical help to plan their own deaths. California may become the sixth. Read more... 

 

Suit Seeks To Allow Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill 

On Wednesday, a cancer patient and five physicians in California filed a lawsuit that aims to exempt doctors from a state ban on assisted suicide for patients with terminal illnesses. Read more...

 

Cops, Cities Offer New Medical Marijuana Bill

With one eye on a looming effort to legalize recreational marijuana in California, organizations representing the state's cities and police officers are pushing a Sacramento-area lawmaker's bill to regulate medical cannabis. Read more...

 

Covered California 'Contingency Plans' Tied to Tax Deadline

Covered California open enrollment ends this Sunday. Sort of. But advocates have long been frustrated with the timing of open enrollment. That's because of how penalties for lacking insurance are assessed - on your taxes. The tax deadline is not for another two months, April 15. Read more... 

 

UC Medical Center Supports Precision Medicine Initiative

UC-San Francisco's new $1.5 billion hospital complex at Mission Bay opened its doors Feb. 1 with plans to use new technology and patient-centric care to pursue its mission to expand precision medicine, one of President Obama's fast-track initiatives. Read more...

 

Connect with Us!
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn
 

Connect

 

Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter  View our profile on LinkedIn 


CPh-PAC

Donate Today! 

PAC logo

PDF

Donate Today!  

 

PDFC
Helpful Links

CPhA Grassroots Action Center 

 

CPhA Current Legislation

 

Find Your Legislator  

 

CA State Assembly    

 

CA State Senate

 

Current Legislation Index 

 

California State Board of Pharmacy

 

Gov. Jerry Brown 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Regional Legislative Days

March 7, 2015 

Los Angeles, CA

Register now

 

Regional Legislative Days

March 14, 2015

Stockton, CA

Register now

 

West Coast Pharmacy Exchange

April 9-12, 2015

Anaheim, CA

Register now

 

California Pharmacy Legislative Day 

April 28, 2015

Sacramento, CA

Save the date

 

Regional Legislative Days

May 16, 2015

San Francisco, CA

Register now

 

Regional Legislative Days

May 30, 2015

San Diego, CA 

Register now

 

Regional Legislative Days

June 13, 2015

Clovis, CA

Register now

 

Regional Legislative Days

June 2015

San Gabriel Valley

Date & Location TBA

 

Contact CPhA

 www.cpha.com

[email protected]

(916) 779-1400 phone

(916) 779-1401 fax