Message from Mike
Counseling your
patients on Medicare Part D plans
|
Medicare
Part D marketing for 2010 begins Thursday. The
Medicare Part D enrollment period begins Nov. 15
and ends Dec. 31
You likely will be
counseling your patients, both those who are new
to Medicare and those who have been in the system
for a year or more. Both groups are being
bombarded with television ads and direct mail
pieces touting the benefits of the umpteen
possible choices.
One of those
choices, Community CCRx SM,preserves the pharmacist-patient
relationship. You may want to help your patients
review the benefits of this plan, developed in
cooperation with the National Community
Pharmacists Association. In 2005, NCPA
collaborated with MemberHealth, LLC, part of the
Universal American family of companies, in the
design of Community CCRx, one of the nation's top
four Medicare Part D PDPs.
Community CCRx
was founded on a key principle of aligning the
interests of the patient, pharmacist, and the plan
to produce the best outcomes--both in terms of
patient care and cost. It continues to engage
pharmacists in the delivery of high-touch,
high-quality health care based on these core
values:
- 90 Days at Retail/No Mail Order
- Incentive Program for Pharmacy
- Medication Therapy Management
- Strong Formulary
- Open dialogue between CCRx and the
pharmacist
A Pre-Enrollment-Pharmacy
Educational kit, which should arrive in pharmacies
by Thursday, includes pharmacy education,
reference, and enrollment material for the 2010
plan year. More information will follow in the
next couple of weeks.
Community CCRx Medicare
Town Hall Webcasts
You are invited to
join in for three Webcasts in October to preview
the 2010 CCRx plans and highlight Medicare
Advantage Prescription Drug plans powered by CCRx.
Topics will include updates for 2010 bid results,
PDP and MAPD plan designs, formulary update, MTM
programs, and incentive programs.
Mark
your calendar now for Oct. 6 at noon, Oct. 7 at 11
a.m., and Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. CT to learn more about
CCRx.
Identifying member needs
and preferred vendors
Before
American Pharmacies bestows the title "preferred
vendor," we do a lot of research. Part of that
research includes surveys sent to our
stockholders. Be on the lookout for one about
insurance.
Continued success,
Mike
Gohlke
President, American
Pharmacies |
PBMs
take advantage of liquid Tamiflu
shortage
|
It
comes as no surprise that PBMs are taking
advantage of a national health crisis, refusing to
pay for compounded Tamiflu for ill children and
others who cannot swallow capsules.
Clark
Haney Wells, RPh of Tahoka, alerted American
Pharmacies Monday that CVS/Caremark and Medco are
not only refusing to pay for compounded Tamiflu
suspension, but also instructing pharmacists to
only submit payment for the capsules. That would
result in misbranding the medication being
dispensed.
The problem is caused by a
shortage of Tamiflu Oral Suspension and Tamiflu 30
mg and 45 mg capsules. Roche Pharmaceuticals,
which is concentrating on producing 75 mg
capsules, provided guidelines for emergency
compounding of an oral Tamiflu suspension from
Tamiflu 75 mg capsules.
At this
time, we understand that Express Scripts is
handling the matter correctly.
|
Tx
Medicaid conducts its own pricing
survey
|
|
The Texas Medicaid Vendor Drug
Program performs its own drug pricing and is not
dependent on private pricing services, such as
First Data Bank. As a result, there are no planned
changes to the average wholesale price.
"We
receive pricing information directly from drug
manufacturers," says Don Valdes with Texas Health
and Human Services Commission. "We will not make
immediate, automatic changes to the AWP in Texas.
As manufacturers send us new pricing information,
it will be updated in our system, including any
changes to the AWP."
The long-running case
involving First DataBank, a major pharmaceutical
pricing service, has been resolved and FDB plans
to reduce the AWP by approximately 4 percent for
approximately 1,400 drug products identified in
New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund, et
al, v. First DataBank, Inc. and McKesson
Corporation.
For more information on the
AWP reduction, please contact Don Valdes at Don.Valdes@hhsc.state.tx.us.
|
| Members
only |
|
Expert business and law advice for
American Pharmacies members.
- Medicaid Integrity Program provider audits
- Complaints
made against you to the Texas State Board of
Pharmacy
- The
independent pharmacist's duty to warn
- Auditing
loopholes in Medicare Part D
- Safeguard
your business from employee fraud
- Hiring
and firing tips
- The
pharmacist's guide to on-site audits
- Contracting
tips for independent
pharmacists
| |
| |
|
Dividends
&
Rebates |
|
American
Pharmacies distributed rebates or dividends to
stockholders on the following dates. To read the
letters, go to the Members
Only
section.
To
get your password, go to the Contact Us section
and type your preferred password in the Comments
area.
If
you would like to become an American
Pharmacies stockholder to receive extra
$$$, contact an American Pharmacies business
development manager.
North
Texas
972.523.2064
Kaye
Stroud
South Texas
512.623.9900
Source
/Date
APRx
FY 2009 Year End / 7 August 09
McKesson / 12
March 09
Morris & Dickson / 20 Feb
09
McKesson / 20 Feb 09
AmerisourceBergen /
21 Jan 09
McKesson / 19 Dec 08
Morris &
Dickson / 19 Dec 08
McKesson / 21 Nov
08
|
| Your
APRx board |
Vance
Oglesbee, RPh
Chairman
Robert Kinsey,
RPh
Vice Chairman
Bruce Rogers,
RPh
Secretary/Treasurer
Lynn Everett,
RPh
Immediate Past Chairman
DIRECTORS
Ray Carvajal,
RPh
Buddy de la Rosa,
RPh
Alton Kanak,
RPh
Michael Muecke,
RPh
Dennis Song,
RPh |
| |
