MPA member Jim Kaski recently had an editorial on immunization status published in the Detroit News. Click here to read Kaski's piece. NOTE: A Detroit News subscription is required to view the article.

Frustrated patients in Michigan and around the country have had to pay out of pocket for medicine for chronic diseases and other illnesses or go without in the fallout from a cyberattack of a major health care company. The tech company, Change Healthcare, has restored access to many of its systems in the weeks since the Feb. 21 attack announcement. However, some services remained down as of Thursday, March 21, including the system that processes discount/savings cards to bring down drug prices for patients. Local pharmacists said for a while they couldn’t verify what a customer’s insurance would cover for their medication, or how much of a copay was necessary at the transaction point. Patients had the option of paying [...]

House Bills (HB) 5435 and 5436, sponsored by Reps. Kara Hope, D-Holt, and Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, were introduced earlier this week in the Michigan House of Representatives. The legislation, as introduced, would allow for pharmacists to issue a prescription for and dispense a hormonal contraceptive patch, self-administered hormonal contraceptive, or vaginal ring hormonal contraceptive to a patient. The legislation requires that the department promulgate rules governing this practice, which would include training requirements, the use of a self-screening risk assessment tool, and notify the patient’s primary care provider. The second bill in the package requires health insurers to cover contraception prescribed by a pharmacist, along with any necessary tests or assessments required to administer this service. If passed, the legislation would [...]

To help address the ongoing shortages of Bicillin L-A (penicillin G benzathine injectable suspension), the only drug that can be used to treat congenital syphilis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved temporary importation of Extencilline (benzathine benzylpenicillin) from French manufacturers Laboratories Delbert and Provepharm. The dosing and pharmacology of Extencilline can be located here. New Jersey-based Direct Success will be the sole U.S. distributor of imported Extencilline. The product will not be eligible for discounted purchasing via the 340b Drug Pricing Program. Because of that and because the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has sufficient stocks of Bicillin-L-A to treat high-priority populations until the shortage subsides, MDHHS will not be procuring Extencilline for centralized distribution [...]

On Dec. 14, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released a signed letter to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Medicare Part D Plans, Medicaid-managed care plans and private insurance plans, outlining concerns it has about "certain practices by some plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that threaten the sustainability of many pharmacies, impede access to care and put increased burden on health care providers." CMS said it was particularly concerned about the sustainability of small and independent pharmacies, which can leave pharmacy services out of reach for people in rural and underserved areas if they close. CMS also said it was "very concerned" about payment practices that may "impede access to recommended vaccinations and it is imperative that [...]