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Matthew Gavidia, welcome to This Week in Managed Care

Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed an emergency measure to safeguard the threatened supply of two drugs being hoarded for possible use in the treatment of COVID-19...The governor signed the emergency regulation Tuesday on the recommendation of the state Board of Pharmacy...The drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, are used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and are being studied by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19...The governor’s order prohibits the prescribing and dispensing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for a COVID-19 diagnosis, requires the appropriate prescription coding for their “legitimate medical purposes” and limits prescriptions to a 30-day supply...The order doesn’t limit use of the drugs in hospitals, only in outpatient settings where hoarding is evident, the governor’s office stressed. Doctors may continue to prescribe them to hospitalized COVID-19 patients at their discretion...READ MORE

The British Government has banned companies from buying up drugs used on intensive care wards and selling them to hospitals in other countries...The Department of Health has announced that the exporting of certain drugs including painkillers, antibiotics and anaesthetics will no longer be allowed...This ban on international sale of the drugs is intended to shore up Britain's supplies of drugs which are crucial for treating intensive care patients...Increasing numbers of people will need to be admitted to critical care units in the coming weeks and the Government must move to make sure they can be looked after. Although bed capacity is an issue, banning the drugs is one way hospitals can make sure their supplies don't run dry...READ MORE

The HHS Office for Civil Rights announced... that during the coronavirus pandemic it will use discretion when enforcing HIPAA-compliance for telehealth communications tools...Even though some of those technologies may not fully comply with HIPAA requirements, OCR says it "will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered health care providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency."...Covered entities seeking to use audio or video communication tech to reach patients where they live "can use any non-public facing remote communication product that is available to communicate with patients," said the agency. "This exercise of discretion applies to telehealth provided for any reason, regardless of whether the telehealth service is related to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions related to COVID-19."...READ MORE

Following the first approved Medicaid section 1135 waiver for Florida, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved 33 more waiver requests in the last 2 weeks....The waivers are intended to provide the states with relief during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic by providing states the flexibility to focus resources on managing the outbreak. Some waivers available under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act include temporary suspension of prior authorization requirements; extension of existing authorizations; modified timeline requirements for state fair hearings and appeals; and relaxed provider enrollment requirements to allow states to quickly enroll out-of-state or other new providers...READ MORE

AbbVie has released an update on its pending acquisition of Allergan, announcing that the companies have entered into a consent decree agreement with staff of the US Federal Trade Commission regarding the deal...AbbVie claimed that the primary aim of the merger is to achieve a "diversified product portfolio [that] meets our strategic goal to reduce reliance on Humira", as Humira – AbbVie’s blockbuster and also the world’s best-selling drug – gradually loses its patenting around the world, starting in Europe last year...READ MORE

When the FDA comes down on drug manufacturers, it can be for a range of wrongdoings, including poor testing policies and unsanitary conditions. But shredding key documents and leading investigators to incorrect rooms during an inspection? That's bold, and Indian drugmaker Windlas could pay the price...The FDA said Windlas Healthcare failed to adequately address a slew of issues at its Dehradun, India, plant including employees shredding and disposing of key documents and clandestinely signing paperwork while investigators were on-site, according to a warning letter...READ MORE

Doctors are hoarding medications touted as possible coronavirus treatments by writing prescriptions for themselves and family members, according to pharmacy boards in states across the country...The stockpiling has become so worrisome in Idaho, Kentucky, Ohio, Nevada, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Texas that the boards in those states have issued emergency restrictions or guidelines on how the drugs can be dispensed at pharmacies. More states are expected to follow suit...None of the drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for that use. Some of them — including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine — are commonly used to treat malaria, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions...Carmen Catizone, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, said state boards across the country were “trying to stop the hoarding and inappropriate prescribing, but balancing what patients need.”...READ MORE

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Sunday afternoon a statewide task force to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19...The task force will be led by Jim Murren, former CEO of MGM Resorts International...to focus "immediately marshalling and organizing all of Nevada’s private sector resources in support of the local and State Government’s already robust efforts to tackle COVID-19."...READ MORE

Christina Mattina, welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network