- NV Governor announces investigation into State Board of Pharmacy (kolotv.com)- Sisolak 'shocked' over pharmacy board's failure to conduct background checks; board staffer resigns (thenevadaindependent.com)- Sisolak vows shakeup after probe reveals 'alarming' gaps in state pharmacy board oversight (rgj.com)- Governor Sisolak Addresses Issues With Nevada State Board of Pharmacy (ktvn.com)
The Office of Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced that they are investigating the State Board of Pharmacy for allegedly failing to do background checks on pharmacy wholesalers...The governor's office says since 2007, the State Board of Pharmacy has been collecting fees, but has not been doing background or fingerprint checks as required by a law passed in 2005...The Governor announced today that he is authorizing the recommendations proposed by the Audit Division:
1. Lifting the temporary moratorium on granting wholesale pharmacy licenses to eligible applicants.
2. Directing the BOP to return unspent fingerprint fees to the appropriate applicants and licensees and transfer any fees that cannot be returned or tied to an individual or entity to the State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Account.
3. Requesting that the BOP hold accountable those who failed in their statutory obligations to protect the health and safety of Nevadans...READ MORE
- Local professional discusses possible Medicaid expansion (nevadadailymail.com)
...Healthcare for Missouri’s efforts to put the issue of Medicaid expansion on the 2020 ballot has raised more than $1.3 million to start the campaign…The campaign is drawing support from those in the healthcare community...Some within the healthcare community in Nevada are also eager to get the question to Missouri’s voters. Regional Hospital Controller Dana White explained that NRMC (Nevada Regional Medical Center) is a Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH). “What that means is that we have a disproportionate share of self-pay, Medicare and Medicaid patients compared to other hospitals.” The hospital derives 75 percent of their revenue from those three sources. “I’m not an expert on Medicaid expansion, but I do know that it would help our hospital.”...Medicaid expansion would help them to stay healthy and be productive member of the community. That’s not specific to the hospital, that’s specific to the community as a whole.”...READ MORE
- Nevada Independent sues state health department for access to drug pricing transparency records (thenevadaindependent.com)
The Nevada Independent filed a lawsuit...against the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services seeking access to a number of records related to the state’s 2017 diabetes drug pricing transparency law...The Independent filed two records requests this year seeking copies of annual reports submitted by diabetes drug companies and the drug pricing middlemen who help sell them to the state…The annual reports are required to explain how and why a drug price spikes over time...But the state has denied much of both requests on the grounds that such information is exempt from state public records law because of a federal trade secret law...READ MORE
- Nevada Joins Lawsuit Against Drug Companies, Alleges Price-Fixing Scheme (ktvn.com)
Twenty of the biggest generic prescription drug makers are accused of committing a multi-billion dollar fraud on U.S. consumers. The states, including Nevada, and Puerto Rico filed a complaint...alleging the companies coordinated to inflate prices and reduce competition on more than 100 generic prescription drugs...The drug companies deny engaging in any illegal collusion saying prices go up with drug shortages and market forces....the Association for Accessible Medicines...says it and its member companies are "committed to supporting policies that promote competition."...“Generic drugs are intended to create competition in the marketplace and make treatment more affordable and accessible for patients with acute and chronic conditions,” said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “In the United States, 9 out of 10 filled prescriptions are for generic drugs patients rely on for care, making these alleged anti-competitive practices even more troublesome. Many Nevadans, especially our seniors, struggle with the skyrocketing cost of prescriptions, and my office will aggressively pursue drug companies who take advantage of patients’ need for health care. This unified and targeted action illustrates my Bureau of Consumer Protection’s continued dedication to holding these companies and individuals accountable for the consequences their actions have had on the American people and our health care system.”...READ MORE
- As briefs filed in Nevada Independent drug transparency lawsuit, judge delays hearing until November (thenevadaindependent.com)
Just a day before a lawsuit by The Nevada Independent to obtain public records through the state’s drug transparency law was set for a hearing and both sides had filed briefs, District Court...has kicked the hearing date to November 19...the state effectively denied two records requests seeking copies of reports submitted to the state by drug companies and pharmaceutical middlemen under the state’s bipartisan insulin pricing transparency law...the state argued that a federal law, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, preempts the state law and makes that information confidential. Its position came in the face of stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, which pushed hard against the bill during the 2017 session and which has sued once already to keep the state from publishing key details...That suit was eventually dropped, but only after DHHS adopted internal policies allowing drug makers to mark those details as trade secrets. In ending legal action, industry lawyers — calling the bill “facially unconstitutional” — left the door open for another lawsuit...READ MORE
- Two dozen companies could be fined $20 million by state for noncompliance with diabetes drug transparency law (thenevadaindependent.com)
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is threatening to levy roughly $20 million in fines on more than two dozen drug manufacturers that have yet to submit cost and profit reports to the state as required by a 2017 law aimed at better understanding the rising costs of treating diabetes...under Nevada law...companies can be assessed a fine of up to $5,000 a day for noncompliance. With 143 days since the manufacturer reports were due on April 1, each company that has yet to submit a report is facing a fine of up to $715,000...READ MORE
- Association health plans take patchwork approach on whether to enroll new employers after federal court ruling
Chamber of commerce and trade association health plans are in legal limbo after a federal judge ruled earlier this year that the Trump administration rule allowing them violates the Affordable Care Act...Some associations in Nevada have stopped allowing new businesses into their health plans out of an abundance of caution as the case goes up on appeal, while others have chosen to press forward. The heterogeneous response is the result of the fact that the court’s decision only affects some association health plans and the state Division of Insurance, which oversees the plans, doesn’t know which ones those are...READ MORE
- Nevada investigating marijuana testing labs over THC levels (reviewjournal.com)
Nevada regulators are investigating marijuana testing laboratories to figure out how cannabis with exceedingly high levels of yeast and mold made it to store shelves, as well as for possibly doctoring THC levels to make cannabis products appear more potent to consumers...the state sent out a notice that several batches of marijuana flower and pre-rolls showed levels of yeast and mold that exceeded the state’s allowable limit after a secondary test. A follow-up test conducted by the state’s Department of Agriculture found that some of the products had yeast and mold levels of 390,000 colony-forming units per gram, which is nearly 40 times higher than the state’s legal threshold of 10,000 cfu/g...READ MORE
- State taking action to confront opioid crisis, but is it making a difference? (thenevadaindependent.com)
About five years ago, Nevada started taking high-profile steps toward tackling the opioid crisis. There were bills to curb doctor-shopping and over-prescribing in 2015 and 2017, a statewide opioid summit in 2016 and a cascade of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers from the state and local governments in the past few years...But has the growing awareness and response made a dent in the epidemic?...Scores of law enforcement, treatment professionals, elected officials and others gathered in Las Vegas this week for a two-day conference where they assessed progress and exchanged ideas on how to better tackle opioid abuse...Here are some takeaways from the event:...READ MORE
- Nevada State Board of Pharmacy July 2019 Newsletter (bop.nv.gov)
- CS: Reporting Theft or Loss
- National Pharmacy Compliance News July 2019
- FDA Changes Opioid Labeling to Give Providers Better Information on Tapering
- DEA Warns of Scam Calls Targeting Pharmacists and Other DEA-Registered Providers
- FDA Officials Outline 2019 Efforts to Improve Quality of Compounded Drugs
- China Agrees to Stricter Fentanyl Production Laws Following Pressure From US Lawmakers
- Two Lots of Transdermal Fentanyl Patches Recalled Due to Product Mislabeling
- FDA Releases Toolkit to Help Promote Safe Opioid Disposal