Psychiatr News August 17, 2007
Volume 42, Number 16, page 4
© 2007 American Psychiatric Association
Prescription-Pad Mandate Alarms Physician Groups
Rich Daly
APA and other physician groups are trying to convince Congress and
federal health officials to legislatively or administratively remove the new
requirement, while urging members to prepare for it.
Physicians who treat Medicaid patients must use
"tamper-resistant" prescription pads beginning in October. The
requirement, tucked in a massive budget bill, caught physician groups by
surprise and sent them scrambling to alert their members.
The law (PL 110-28), enacted in May, will reimburse state Medicaid programs
only for prescriptions written on so-called tamper-resistant pads as of
October 1.
The law aims to make it harder for patients to obtain controlled drugs
illegally and easier for the government to save money. The Congressional
Budget Office estimated that the requirement will save taxpayers $355 million
over the coming decade, mainly through preventing fraudulent
prescriptions.
The fast-approaching start date leaves little time to educate doctors and
pharmacists.
"Given the short time period remaining until this provision becomes
effective in October, CMS [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]
could greatly benefit the Medicaid program and its beneficiaries by quickly
issuing educational information as to this payment prohibition," said
James H. Scully Jr., M.D., medical director of APA, in a July 13 letter to CMS
that outlined a series of concerns with the new requirement, including the
lack of a clear definition for "tamper-resistant" pads.
Although manufacturers of several prescription pads include different
features aimed at thwarting their misuse, the law does not describe which
features meet its criteria. "CMS does not have the legal authority to
create a more constrictive meaning for 'tamper-resistant pad' than was created
by federal statute," wrote Scully.
APA and other physician groups, however, have urged CMS to provide
information to prescribers, pharmacists, and CMS auditors regarding the
features or types of tamper-resistant pads it would like to see.
A common feature of these pads is a chemical additive that reveals when
efforts have been made to alter the paper, such as the appearance of the word
"void" when put in a copier.
Scully also requested that CMS help explain to pharmacists their legal
duties in filling prescriptions presented by Medicaid patients, regardless of
whether the prescriptions are written on the required pads. As long as a
prescription is otherwise legally valid, pharmacists should fill it for the
patient's benefit, he said.
"Patients should not suffer or be hindered in their ability to obtain
their prescriptions because of payment issues outside their control,"
Scully said.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and other pharmacy
groups have echoed APA's concerns.
"We are very concerned about the act's tamper-proof
prescription-paper provision on the ability of Medicaid beneficiaries to
obtain their prescriptions," said Steven Anderson, president and CEO of
NACDS, in a July 19 letter to CMS and congressional leaders.
CMS plans to comply with Congress's statutory guideline for implementation,
said Dennis Smith, director for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS, at a
House Small Business Committee hearing last month. Because many states already
have similar requirements, he said, implementation demands will be limited to
the remaining states.
Scully told CMS that if the tamper-resistant pads end up costing
significantly more than other types of pads, CMS should encourage state
Medicaid programs to create financial offsets or credits to physicians for the
purchase of the pads.
The new requirement will not affect physicians who have adopted electronic
prescribing. The requirement, Scully said, could provide CMS with an
opportunity to educate physicians about the advantages of electronic health
records and how to transition to them.
Clinicians who are averse to adopting e-prescribing should order
appropriate pads immediately, to avoid the possibility of a shortage, Scully
said.
The impact of the new law remains unclear, but the National Association of
State Medicaid Directors warned CMS that states have found that a growing
number of health care providers have already expressed "dismay with the
administrative burden imposed by new Medicaid regulations and audits, and in
turn, some are choosing to terminate their participation in the Medicaid
program."
APA has contacted its district branches to brief them on the requirement
and encourage them to contact their state pharmacy boards for details on
ordering the tamper-resistant pads.
Reps. Marion Berry (D-Ark.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) have circulated a letter
urging their colleagues to contact Medicaid officials and seek a delay in
implementation of the requirement. They cosponsored legislation (HR 3090)
introduced by Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio) on July 19 that would amend the
prescription-pad requirement to apply only to class II narcotics, such as
oxycodone.
"We have to find a reasonable approach to helping, not hindering, our
health care providers deliver quality health care," Ross said.
The text of PL 110-28 can be accessed at
<www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/index.html>
by searching on the law number. APA's comment letter is posted at
<www.psych.org/members/download.cfm?file=1718>.
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