Senate Bill sb1532

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532

    By Senator Wilson





    33-767-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Medicaid program;

  3         amending s. 409.91195, F.S.; requiring that the

  4         Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics

  5         Committee recommend medications used to relieve

  6         the symptoms of the influenza virus to the

  7         Agency for Health Care Administration;

  8         providing that prior authorization for such

  9         medications is not required during certain

10         months; amending s. 409.912, F.S.; authorizing

11         the agency to remove the prior-authorization

12         requirement for influenza drugs recommended by

13         the committee; requiring that the agency

14         reimburse a maximum supply of one medication

15         used to treat the influenza virus; providing an

16         effective date.

17  

18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

19  

20         Section 1.  Present subsection (11) of section

21  409.91195, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection

22  (12), and a new subsection (11) is added to that section, to

23  read:

24         409.91195  Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics

25  Committee.--There is created a Medicaid Pharmaceutical and

26  Therapeutics Committee within the Agency for Health Care

27  Administration for the purpose of developing a preferred drug

28  formulary pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s. 1396r-8.

29         (11)  The Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics

30  Committee shall recommend to the agency at least two

31  medications that diminish the effects of the influenza virus,

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  and these medications will not require prior authorization

 2  between the months of October and May of any year.

 3         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (39) of section

 4  409.912, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

 5         409.912  Cost-effective purchasing of health care.--The

 6  agency shall purchase goods and services for Medicaid

 7  recipients in the most cost-effective manner consistent with

 8  the delivery of quality medical care. To ensure that medical

 9  services are effectively utilized, the agency may, in any

10  case, require a confirmation or second physician's opinion of

11  the correct diagnosis for purposes of authorizing future

12  services under the Medicaid program. This section does not

13  restrict access to emergency services or poststabilization

14  care services as defined in 42 C.F.R. part 438.114. Such

15  confirmation or second opinion shall be rendered in a manner

16  approved by the agency. The agency shall maximize the use of

17  prepaid per capita and prepaid aggregate fixed-sum basis

18  services when appropriate and other alternative service

19  delivery and reimbursement methodologies, including

20  competitive bidding pursuant to s. 287.057, designed to

21  facilitate the cost-effective purchase of a case-managed

22  continuum of care. The agency shall also require providers to

23  minimize the exposure of recipients to the need for acute

24  inpatient, custodial, and other institutional care and the

25  inappropriate or unnecessary use of high-cost services. The

26  agency may mandate prior authorization, drug therapy

27  management, or disease management participation for certain

28  populations of Medicaid beneficiaries, certain drug classes,

29  or particular drugs to prevent fraud, abuse, overuse, and

30  possible dangerous drug interactions. The Pharmaceutical and

31  Therapeutics Committee shall make recommendations to the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  agency on drugs for which prior authorization is required. The

 2  agency shall inform the Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics

 3  Committee of its decisions regarding drugs subject to prior

 4  authorization. The agency is authorized to limit the entities

 5  it contracts with or enrolls as Medicaid providers by

 6  developing a provider network through provider credentialing.

 7  The agency may limit its network based on the assessment of

 8  beneficiary access to care, provider availability, provider

 9  quality standards, time and distance standards for access to

10  care, the cultural competence of the provider network,

11  demographic characteristics of Medicaid beneficiaries,

12  practice and provider-to-beneficiary standards, appointment

13  wait times, beneficiary use of services, provider turnover,

14  provider profiling, provider licensure history, previous

15  program integrity investigations and findings, peer review,

16  provider Medicaid policy and billing compliance records,

17  clinical and medical record audits, and other factors.

18  Providers shall not be entitled to enrollment in the Medicaid

19  provider network. The agency is authorized to seek federal

20  waivers necessary to implement this policy.

21         (39)(a)  The agency shall implement a Medicaid

22  prescribed-drug spending-control program that includes the

23  following components:

24         1.  Medicaid prescribed-drug coverage for brand-name

25  drugs for adult Medicaid recipients is limited to the

26  dispensing of four brand-name drugs per month per recipient.

27  Children are exempt from this restriction. Antiretroviral

28  agents are excluded from this limitation. No requirements for

29  prior authorization or other restrictions on medications used

30  to treat mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, severe

31  depression, or bipolar disorder may be imposed on Medicaid

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  recipients. Medications that will be available without

 2  restriction for persons with mental illnesses include atypical

 3  antipsychotic medications, conventional antipsychotic

 4  medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and

 5  other medications used for the treatment of serious mental

 6  illnesses. The agency shall also limit the amount of a

 7  prescribed drug dispensed to no more than a 34-day supply. The

 8  agency shall continue to provide unlimited generic drugs,

 9  contraceptive drugs and items, and diabetic supplies. Although

10  a drug may be included on the preferred drug formulary, it

11  would not be exempt from the four-brand limit. The agency may

12  authorize exceptions to the brand-name-drug restriction based

13  upon the treatment needs of the patients, only when such

14  exceptions are based on prior consultation provided by the

15  agency or an agency contractor, but the agency must establish

16  procedures to ensure that:

17         a.  There will be a response to a request for prior

18  consultation by telephone or other telecommunication device

19  within 24 hours after receipt of a request for prior

20  consultation;

21         b.  A 72-hour supply of the drug prescribed will be

22  provided in an emergency or when the agency does not provide a

23  response within 24 hours as required by sub-subparagraph a.;

24  and

25         c.  Except for the exception for nursing home residents

26  and other institutionalized adults and except for drugs on the

27  restricted formulary for which prior authorization may be

28  sought by an institutional or community pharmacy, prior

29  authorization for an exception to the brand-name-drug

30  restriction is sought by the prescriber and not by the

31  pharmacy. When prior authorization is granted for a patient in

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  an institutional setting beyond the brand-name-drug

 2  restriction, such approval is authorized for 12 months and

 3  monthly prior authorization is not required for that patient.

 4         2.  Reimbursement to pharmacies for Medicaid prescribed

 5  drugs shall be set at the lesser of: the average wholesale

 6  price (AWP) minus 15.4 percent, the wholesaler acquisition

 7  cost (WAC) plus 5.75 percent, the federal upper limit (FUL),

 8  the state maximum allowable cost (SMAC), or the usual and

 9  customary (UAC) charge billed by the provider.

10         3.  The agency shall develop and implement a process

11  for managing the drug therapies of Medicaid recipients who are

12  using significant numbers of prescribed drugs each month. The

13  management process may include, but is not limited to,

14  comprehensive, physician-directed medical-record reviews,

15  claims analyses, and case evaluations to determine the medical

16  necessity and appropriateness of a patient's treatment plan

17  and drug therapies. The agency may contract with a private

18  organization to provide drug-program-management services. The

19  Medicaid drug benefit management program shall include

20  initiatives to manage drug therapies for HIV/AIDS patients,

21  patients using 20 or more unique prescriptions in a 180-day

22  period, and the top 1,000 patients in annual spending. The

23  agency shall enroll any Medicaid recipient in the drug benefit

24  management program if he or she meets the specifications of

25  this provision and is not enrolled in a Medicaid health

26  maintenance organization.

27         4.  The agency may limit the size of its pharmacy

28  network based on need, competitive bidding, price

29  negotiations, credentialing, or similar criteria. The agency

30  shall give special consideration to rural areas in determining

31  the size and location of pharmacies included in the Medicaid

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  pharmacy network. A pharmacy credentialing process may include

 2  criteria such as a pharmacy's full-service status, location,

 3  size, patient educational programs, patient consultation,

 4  disease-management services, and other characteristics. The

 5  agency may impose a moratorium on Medicaid pharmacy enrollment

 6  when it is determined that it has a sufficient number of

 7  Medicaid-participating providers.

 8         5.  The agency shall develop and implement a program

 9  that requires Medicaid practitioners who prescribe drugs to

10  use a counterfeit-proof prescription pad for Medicaid

11  prescriptions. The agency shall require the use of

12  standardized counterfeit-proof prescription pads by

13  Medicaid-participating prescribers or prescribers who write

14  prescriptions for Medicaid recipients. The agency may

15  implement the program in targeted geographic areas or

16  statewide.

17         6.  The agency may enter into arrangements that require

18  manufacturers of generic drugs prescribed to Medicaid

19  recipients to provide rebates of at least 15.1 percent of the

20  average manufacturer price for the manufacturer's generic

21  products. These arrangements shall require that if a

22  generic-drug manufacturer pays federal rebates for

23  Medicaid-reimbursed drugs at a level below 15.1 percent, the

24  manufacturer must provide a supplemental rebate to the state

25  in an amount necessary to achieve a 15.1-percent rebate level.

26         7.  The agency may establish a preferred drug formulary

27  in accordance with 42 U.S.C. s. 1396r-8, and, pursuant to the

28  establishment of such formulary, it is authorized to negotiate

29  supplemental rebates from manufacturers that are in addition

30  to those required by Title XIX of the Social Security Act and

31  at no less than 14 percent of the average manufacturer price

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  as defined in 42 U.S.C. s. 1936 on the last day of a quarter

 2  unless the federal or supplemental rebate, or both, equals or

 3  exceeds 29 percent. There is no upper limit on the

 4  supplemental rebates the agency may negotiate. The agency may

 5  determine that specific products, brand-name or generic, are

 6  competitive at lower rebate percentages. Agreement to pay the

 7  minimum supplemental rebate percentage will guarantee a

 8  manufacturer that the Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics

 9  Committee will consider a product for inclusion on the

10  preferred drug formulary. However, a pharmaceutical

11  manufacturer is not guaranteed placement on the formulary by

12  simply paying the minimum supplemental rebate. Agency

13  decisions will be made on the clinical efficacy of a drug and

14  recommendations of the Medicaid Pharmaceutical and

15  Therapeutics Committee, as well as the price of competing

16  products minus federal and state rebates. The agency is

17  authorized to contract with an outside agency or contractor to

18  conduct negotiations for supplemental rebates. For the

19  purposes of this section, the term "supplemental rebates"

20  means cash rebates. Effective July 1, 2004, value-added

21  programs as a substitution for supplemental rebates are

22  prohibited. The agency is authorized to seek any federal

23  waivers to implement this initiative.

24         8.  The agency shall establish an advisory committee

25  for the purposes of studying the feasibility of using a

26  restricted drug formulary for nursing home residents and other

27  institutionalized adults. The committee shall be comprised of

28  seven members appointed by the Secretary of Health Care

29  Administration. The committee members shall include two

30  physicians licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; three

31  pharmacists licensed under chapter 465 and appointed from a

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  list of recommendations provided by the Florida Long-Term Care

 2  Pharmacy Alliance; and two pharmacists licensed under chapter

 3  465.

 4         9.  The Agency for Health Care Administration shall

 5  expand home delivery of pharmacy products. To assist Medicaid

 6  patients in securing their prescriptions and reduce program

 7  costs, the agency shall expand its current mail-order-pharmacy

 8  diabetes-supply program to include all generic and brand-name

 9  drugs used by Medicaid patients with diabetes. Medicaid

10  recipients in the current program may obtain nondiabetes drugs

11  on a voluntary basis. This initiative is limited to the

12  geographic area covered by the current contract. The agency

13  may seek and implement any federal waivers necessary to

14  implement this subparagraph.

15         10.  The agency shall limit to one dose per month any

16  drug prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction.

17         11.a.  The agency shall implement a Medicaid behavioral

18  drug management system. The agency may contract with a vendor

19  that has experience in operating behavioral drug management

20  systems to implement this program. The agency is authorized to

21  seek federal waivers to implement this program.

22         b.  The agency, in conjunction with the Department of

23  Children and Family Services, may implement the Medicaid

24  behavioral drug management system that is designed to improve

25  the quality of care and behavioral health prescribing

26  practices based on best practice guidelines, improve patient

27  adherence to medication plans, reduce clinical risk, and lower

28  prescribed drug costs and the rate of inappropriate spending

29  on Medicaid behavioral drugs. The program shall include the

30  following elements:

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1         (I)  Provide for the development and adoption of best

 2  practice guidelines for behavioral health-related drugs such

 3  as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and medications for

 4  treating bipolar disorders and other behavioral conditions;

 5  translate them into practice; review behavioral health

 6  prescribers and compare their prescribing patterns to a number

 7  of indicators that are based on national standards; and

 8  determine deviations from best practice guidelines.

 9         (II)  Implement processes for providing feedback to and

10  educating prescribers using best practice educational

11  materials and peer-to-peer consultation.

12         (III)  Assess Medicaid beneficiaries who are outliers

13  in their use of behavioral health drugs with regard to the

14  numbers and types of drugs taken, drug dosages, combination

15  drug therapies, and other indicators of improper use of

16  behavioral health drugs.

17         (IV)  Alert prescribers to patients who fail to refill

18  prescriptions in a timely fashion, are prescribed multiple

19  same-class behavioral health drugs, and may have other

20  potential medication problems.

21         (V)  Track spending trends for behavioral health drugs

22  and deviation from best practice guidelines.

23         (VI)  Use educational and technological approaches to

24  promote best practices, educate consumers, and train

25  prescribers in the use of practice guidelines.

26         (VII)  Disseminate electronic and published materials.

27         (VIII)  Hold statewide and regional conferences.

28         (IX)  Implement a disease management program with a

29  model quality-based medication component for severely mentally

30  ill individuals and emotionally disturbed children who are

31  high users of care.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1         c.  If the agency is unable to negotiate a contract

 2  with one or more manufacturers to finance and guarantee

 3  savings associated with a behavioral drug management program

 4  by September 1, 2004, the four-brand drug limit and preferred

 5  drug list prior-authorization requirements shall apply to

 6  mental health-related drugs, notwithstanding any provision in

 7  subparagraph 1. The agency is authorized to seek federal

 8  waivers to implement this policy.

 9         12.  The agency is authorized to contract for drug

10  rebate administration, including, but not limited to,

11  calculating rebate amounts, invoicing manufacturers,

12  negotiating disputes with manufacturers, and maintaining a

13  database of rebate collections.

14         13.  The agency may specify the preferred daily dosing

15  form or strength for the purpose of promoting best practices

16  with regard to the prescribing of certain drugs as specified

17  in the General Appropriations Act and ensuring cost-effective

18  prescribing practices.

19         14.  The agency may require prior authorization for the

20  off-label use of Medicaid-covered prescribed drugs as

21  specified in the General Appropriations Act. The agency may,

22  but is not required to, preauthorize the use of a product for

23  an indication not in the approved labeling. Prior

24  authorization may require the prescribing professional to

25  provide information about the rationale and supporting medical

26  evidence for the off-label use of a drug.

27         15.  The agency shall implement a return and reuse

28  program for drugs dispensed by pharmacies to institutional

29  recipients, which includes payment of a $5 restocking fee for

30  the implementation and operation of the program. The return

31  and reuse program shall be implemented electronically and in a

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1532
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 1  manner that promotes efficiency. The program must permit a

 2  pharmacy to exclude drugs from the program if it is not

 3  practical or cost-effective for the drug to be included and

 4  must provide for the return to inventory of drugs that cannot

 5  be credited or returned in a cost-effective manner.

 6         16.  The agency may remove the requirement for prior

 7  authorization for the drugs recommended by the Medicaid

 8  Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee, as prescribed by s.

 9  409.91195(11), as treatment for the influenza virus. The

10  agency shall reimburse up to a 14-day supply of one of the

11  medications for any recipient having a prescription in order

12  to avoid hospitalizations and complications from the influenza

13  virus.

14         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

15  law.

16  

17            *****************************************

18                          SENATE SUMMARY

19    Requires the Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics
      Committee to make recommendations for medications used to
20    relieve the symptoms of the influenza virus to the Agency
      for Health Care Administration. Provides that prior
21    authorization for such medications is not required during
      certain months. Authorizes the agency to remove the
22    prior-authorization requirement for influenza drugs
      recommended by the committee. Requires the agency to
23    reimburse a maximum supply of one medication used to
      treat the influenza virus.
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