To expand public access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips, Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation on Sunday, November 19. Matthew’s Law allows pharmacies and health care providers to receive and give them out for free. The governor says this is being done to decrease the chances of an accidental overdose, which happened to the person the law is named after. Pharmacies and healthcare providers will be receiving these test strips soon.

In a disappointing turn of events, the New York State Department of Financial Services withdrew a proposed regulation to regulate PBMs in the state. The reason given for withdrawing the proposed regulation was brief and vague: “reconsidering parts of the proposed amendments.” This move is troubling as this proposed regulation garnered overwhelming support during the comment period. Independent pharmacists hope that the Department of Financial Services's decision is temporary, and that a path forward can be made for PBM reform.

TheNew York State Education Department announced its new plan to address central fill arrangements. The Department informed stakeholders who had submitted comments to its proposed central fill rule that it will not move forward with the proposed rule. Instead, the Department will address central fill arrangements from a broader shared services perspective, presumably encompassing shared order processing. The Department sees this broader change as an opportunity to modernize the Pharmacy Practice Act.

On June 28, 2023, the New York Education Department, which oversees the Office of Professions and Board of Pharmacy in the state, published long-awaited proposed regulations governing central fill arrangements in the state. The proposed rule signals a pivot in the state to expressly permit central fill arrangements. The proposed rule would do the following: 1. Create a new central fill pharmacy registration class; 2. Prohibit central fill pharmacies from being open to the public; 3. Require that central fill pharmacies only prepare and fill prescriptions sent from an originating pharmacy; 4. Prohibit direct-to-patient central fill models; 5. Require the originating pharmacy to obtain consent from the patient in writing before a prescription may be prepared by a central fill pharmacy; 6. Require an originating pharmacy to be able to prepare and dispense a prescription to a patient should the prescription not be received from the central fill pharmacy or the patient seeks to pick-up the prescription from the originating pharmacy before it has been prepared by a central fill pharmacy; and 7. Require nonresident pharmacies engaged in central fill models to comply with select provisions of the rule. Stakeholders have until August 27, 2023 to submit comments on the proposed rule.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed legislation that will allow pharmacists to dispense over-the-counter contraception and ensure access to medication abortion. Hochul and lawmakers asserted the new law will increase access to the "routine medication, particularly in rural parts of the state where a pharmacy may be more accessible than a doctor's office." The state law also now requires that every SUNY and CUNY college campus provide access to abortion medication to their students. This can involve either employing or contracting with authorized prescribers of prescription drugs, or by providing students with information and referrals to prescribers.

The New York Medicaid Pharmacy Program, also known as NYRx, has finally been implemented on April 1 after experiencing multiple delays over the course of several years. The program is designed to separate the pharmacy benefit from Medicaid managed care, which will help improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for Medicaid beneficiaries. NYRx will provide greater transparency and accountability by centralizing pharmacy claims processing and drug utilization review under the State Department of Health. With the successful implementation of NYRx, New York is taking a significant step forward in enhancing the quality of care for its Medicaid recipients.

On April 1, 2023, New York will transition its Medicaid pharmacy benefit program out of managed care and back to a fee-for-service model. The New York State Department of Health recently issued Part Two of its special edition update pertaining to this change, known as the NYRx pharmacy benefit transition. The Part Two update includes information on a wide range of topics, including billing, eligibility, vaccine administration, Brand Less Than Generics program, and provider enrollment. For additional reference, see the Part One special edition update and the NYS resource page.

A recently enacted New York law aims to ensure that naloxone is available if needed by people who take prescription opioids. Under the law, which took effect last summer, doctors must co-prescribe naloxone to certain patients who are at risk of an overdose when writing the patients’ first opioid prescription each year. Risk factors that would trigger the requirement include taking a high daily dose of an opioid (at least 90 morphine milligram equivalents, or MME); taking certain other drugs, like sedative hypnotics; or having a history of substance use disorder. In every state, including New York, pharmacists are authorized to dispense naloxone, often under “standing orders” that allow dispensing without a prescription. However, the new law aims to remove the lingering stigma of asking for an overdose drug at the pharmacy counter by mandating that doctors prescribe it.

New York Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett announced a standing order for naloxone, which ensures every pharmacy in the state has a steady supply of the life-saving drug. Naloxone is a medication that can be easily administered to block the effects of opioids, allowing a stricken person to regain consciousness and resume normal breathing. The standing order will begin on August 15, authorizing pharmacies to provide naloxone to anyone who requests it, without a patient-specific prescription. Because the standing order applies to all pharmacies in the state, they will not need to apply individually for a standing order to start dispensing naloxone.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the Department of Financial Services’ new Pharmacy Benefits Bureau — the first of its kind in the country. The Pharmacy Benefits Bureau will implement and oversee new licensing and reporting requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Previously, PBMs were only partially regulated with requirements relating to network formation. Now, PBMs will face tighter regulations. With the Bureau, Gov. Hochul hopes to lower drug and health insurance costs for New York residents, while providing protection for pharmacies. All PBMs are required to register with the Department of Financial Services by June 1, 2022.

Legislators are currently considering a new bill to allow for medication synchronization in New York’s Medicaid program. This bill, A187, would grant New Yorkers coverage for med sync services and provide pharmacists with a better avenue for billing. A187 has passed the Senate and awaits hearings in the State Assembly.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed key legislation that is part of the Pharmacy Rescue Package, a group of 3 bills that have received media attention and unrelenting support in recent weeks. Two of the three bills have been signed by the Governor. The 1st bill, S. 3566/A. 5854A, protects patient choice by banning mandatory mail order. The 2nd bill, S.3762/A.1396, will increase regulation and transparency of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by requiring them to be licensed and registered in the state. The bill also outlines the duties and obligations of these entities and sets up a department to receive complaints of PBM violations, which will bring greater restriction to their actions and much needed oversight to this area of the healthcare system.

Advocates are calling for the governor's approval of a prescription drug access bill that has already passed in both the NY state senate and assembly. This bill aims to give Medicaid patients better access to their prescription drugs by allowing the usage of any pharmacies in the state, not just in-network pharmacies. Especially for patients with conditions such as epilepsy, it can be difficult to drive and get their medications on time with the added restrictions on which pharmacy they can use. This bill also helps ensure independent pharmacies get reimbursed at fair rates.

New legislation signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, S.4807-A/A.6476, now expands the scope of immunization for practicing pharmacists in the state. Licensed pharmacists can now administer a wider scope of CDC-recommended vaccinations for patients 18 years and older. These vaccines include those for hepatitis A and B, human papillomavirus (HPV), measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. This new legislation also makes the authorization to administer COVID-19 vaccines now a permanent part of the law moving forward. This is a great step forward in expanding patient access to a wider variety of vaccinations, and calling on pharmacists to hep do so.

The New York State Pharmacy Rescue Package (Assembly Bill A7598) seeks to refine the prescription drug distribution system in NY. On October 5th, pharmacists, patients and other advocates for the bill gathered outside the State Capital to support the bill's passage and urge Governor Hochul to sign her approval. The Pharmacy Rescue Package has already passed the legislature unanimously, and it seeks to protect small, independent pharmacies from being exploited by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

SB 4807-A, which recently passed the Senate and Assembly, would grant pharmacists the ability to dispense immunizations to patients 18 years and older, under guidelines from the CDC. HPV immunizations are of particular interest in this bill, as New York is one of only 2 states that does not allow pharmacists to administer it. SB 4807-8 comes in response to the integral role pharmacies have played in COVID-19 vaccines; and now pharmacists have the opportunity to expand their role in vaccinating against other diseases.

Two bills, SB 3762 and AB 1396, are currently under consideration in the offices of NewYork legislators and being endorsed by independent pharmacists throughout the state.Both bills call for transparency from PBMs and put measures in place that would ensurepharmacies are properly reimbursed for their services.