00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 134                                                                          
01 "An Act requiring Medicaid payment for scheduled unit dose prescription drug                                            
02 packaging and dispensing services for specified recipients."                                                            
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 47.07 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
05            Sec. 47.07.031. Scheduled unit dose prescription drug dispensing services.                                 
06       (a) In addition to the services provided for under AS 47.07.030, the department shall                             
07       pay a provider for dispensing services for a prescription for scheduled unit doses as a                           
08       mediset for the purpose of assisting a medical assistance recipient to adhere to a                                
09       difficult dosing regimen if the recipient is                                                                      
10                 (1)  eligible under AS 47.07.020(b)(4) - (7), (11), and (12);                                           
11                 (2)  receiving home and community based services under a waiver                                         
12       under AS 47.07.045; or                                                                                            
13                 (3)  residing in a facility that is licensed under AS 47.32 as a long-term                              
14       care facility, assisted living home, residential treatment center, or other group home.                           

01            (b)  Payment under this section must include                                                                 
02                 (1)  a reasonable fee for dispensing services for the period specified in                               
03       the prescription; the following dispensing services are eligible for payment:                                     
04                      (A)  providing pharmaceutical care by consolidating                                                
05            prescriptions for purposes of clinical oversight and clinical monitoring of                                  
06            therapeutic outcomes, and reporting to the prescriber on prescription                                        
07            compliance;                                                                                                  
08                      (B)  creation and delivery of weekly compliance medication                                         
09            packaging by trained personnel;                                                                              
10                      (C)  reviewing and reassessing all returned weekly compliance                                      
11            packaging for compliance and alignment with the medication plan;                                             
12                      (D)  the licensed clinical pharmacist remaining available 24                                       
13            hours a day, seven days a week for consultation, for addressing medication                                   
14            emergencies, and for making urgent clinically critical changes to a medication                               
15            plan;                                                                                                        
16                      (E)  offering quarterly in-person one-on-one review with a                                         
17            recipient or the recipient's representative of a recipient's complete medication                             
18            profile and medication administration record, including review of compliance                                 
19            and identification of potential and actual medication problems, for the purpose                              
20            of preventing potential medication-related problems;                                                         
21                      (F)  reporting to the prescriber on patient compliance,                                            
22            polypharmacy, or other issues related to the recipient's medication at least                                 
23            quarterly; and                                                                                               
24                 (2)  the actual cost of transporting and packaging the medication based                                 
25       on the method necessitated by the location of the provider and the special handling, if                           
26       any, required for the medication.                                                                                 
27            (c)  To the extent feasible, a provider may include multiple medications in a                                
28       mediset for a recipient if the prescription for at least one of the medications requires a                        
29       mediset.                                                                                                          
30            (d)  In this section,                                                                                        
31                 (1)  "mediset" means a package containing a specified quantity of one                                   

01       or more prescription medications that have been divided by a provider into unit doses                             
02       to be taken over a specified period according to a prescription issued by an authorized                           
03       health care provider and that requires specialized dispensing services;                                           
04                 (2)  "unit dose" means a single dose of a prescription medication                                       
05       packaged for one-time use.