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Long Term Care Board Meeting
The PSW Long Term Care Board of Directors
met on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at the Holiday Inn in Stevens Point. They
welcomed new members Steve Hoehn, RPh of Alliance Pharmacy in Milwaukee
and Dave Schreiner of NCS HealthCare in LaCrosse (who was not able to
attend). The Board acknowledged Claire Sweet and Matt Sanger for their
years of service on the LTC Board. The possibility of inviting guest
speakers such as a Medical Director, a member of the PEB or someone with
expertise on issues such as pharmacy internship, Senior care discount
cards or other reimbursement issues was discussed. |
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Incorporating
“Senior Care” into the name of the Section was discussed. The Board
agreed to retain the “Long Term Care” Section name, but to focus more
attention on a broader definition of the marketplace with emphasis on
assisted living. Promotional materials for educational programs present
opportunities to become more creative in redefining and promoting the
marketplace. A discussion on the value of local programming as a tool for
membership recruitment resulted in a motion. The Board adopted the motion
in support of local programming including providing assistance when
requested in obtaining funds, however the Section does not support the use
of PSW’s tax ID number to obtain these funds without first obtaining the
Board’s approval. The Board set its 2002 meeting schedule and adopted
the 2002 budget as amended. They voted to diversify any of the Section's
new investments by moving them into non-equity vehicles to mirror the
overall investment strategy of PSW. The legal opinion provided by Quarles
& Brady on repackaging of drugs previously dispensed by another
pharmacy was reviewed. Copies of this opinion can be obtained by
contacting Scott Whitmore at PSW Headquarters. The Board
discussed including the following position: If a resident of a CBRF cannot
self-administer medication and an unsupervised, non-medically licensed
staff member administers the medication, the PSW LTC Section supports the
requirement to have the resident’s prescription medication packaged and
labeled by a pharmacist in unit time packets, a blister pack, a multi-day
pill holder or similar device. To make this more effective, and to assure
that CBRF residents are able to obtain their medications under their
insurance plans, the PSW LTC Section supports a companion “any willing
pharmacy” bill and/or rule that:
- permits CBRF residents to obtain their
medications from any pharmacy willing to accept the plan’s
reimbursement amount;
- states the CBRF resident cannot be
charged a higher co-pay for choosing a pharmacy that is willing to
provide specialized packaging; and
- states insurance plans must pay an
additional “processing” fee for specialized packaging.
Editor’s note: The PEB’s opinion on the
repackaging issue is due to be released. The Board discussed the need
to develop a plan to prevent further reductions in reimbursement in light
of the OIG report stating that pharmacies buy at AWP-22%. The next meeting
was scheduled for February 6, 2002 at PSW Headquarters in Madison. |
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