The PAAS Member Portal is a wealth of information and resources, whether you are part of the Audit Assistance and/or Fraud, Waste, & Abuse and HIPAA Compliance Program. To get the most out of your membership, keep an accurate and up-to-date employee list.
Audit Assistance members: ensuring each staff member is entered into the PAAS Member Portal, along with a separate email address, allows for the entire staff to receive the monthly Newsline with current audit trends, proper filling & billing practices, hot topics, and more. They also have access to search seven years of eNewsline articles in our archive. Additionally, staff will have access to PAAS’ Tools & Resources, with billing charts, guidance documents, and on-demand webinars.
Fraud, Waste, & Abuse and HIPAA Compliance Program members: keeping your PAAS Member Portal current allows you to stay compliant. PAAS completes daily OIG & GSA exclusion checks, which goes beyond the federal expectation of exclusion checks being conducted upon hire and monthly thereafter. It allows the admin and compliance officer to generate a report reflecting when each employee last completed their FWA and HIPAA training and exclusion list check for the specific time frame being requested from the auditor.
In addition, if the auditor is looking for a specific policy or procedure, you can download your pharmacy’s customized FWA/HIPAA compliance manual and print off the corresponding pages of the policy or procedure they are requesting. For onsite audits, utilize PAAS’ onsite credentialing checklist to cross reference policy sections in your manual the auditor may ask for. This provides the auditor with much of the compliance components looked for during an audit in a fraction of the amount of paperwork and time.
PAAS Tips:
- Refer to the September 2021 Newsline article, “Why Should Your Pharmacy Keep the “Employees” Tab Updated in the PAAS Portal?”
- Contact us if you want to schedule time for a tour of your PAAS Portal, so you are able to reap all the benefits of your PAAS Audit Assistance and/or FWA/HIPAA Compliance membership
- Be mindful of students’ “termination date” within the PAAS Portal and when a new student/intern begins, add them to the PAAS Portal “New Employee”
- Termination dates can be inserted and, subsequently, removed for seasonal employees who may come and go throughout the year
Automatic Prescription Refill Concerns
Many pharmacies use an automatic refill process to streamline the labor needed to fill prescriptions. Patients tend to have better adherence to taking their maintenance medications when automatically refilled, and inventory management can be smoother as well.
Unfortunately, automatic refills can also lead to waste or abuse if not managed properly.
Unfortunately, PAAS National® has assisted with audits where the PBM is requesting proof of refill request. They required pharmacies to have a system in place to document that a patient requested a refill and note the date of request. Some of these audits were for Medicaid plans, some were simply audits where the patient had denied requesting the medication be filled possibly due to the patient misunderstanding the request by the PBM. In these cases, it is up to the pharmacy to prove that they filled the medication in accordance with a patient’s wishes.
PAAS Tips:
NADAC Survey: What is It and Do I Need to Respond?
Pharmacies that receive a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) Survey frequently contact PAAS National® for information and guidance. While this survey remains voluntary, pharmacies may want to take a minute to understand what the survey is about.
The Affordable Care Act required that Medicaid programs shift pharmacy reimbursement to an acquisition cost-based model. CMS Final Rule (CMS-2345-FC) set a compliance date for State Medicaid Programs to be effective no later than April 1, 2017.
The NADAC file was created to provide pricing files for state Medicaid agencies to utilize when creating their acquisition cost-based pricing methods for Fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid plans.
CMS has contracted Myers & Stauffer, LC to conduct these retail pricing surveys. Out-patient pharmacies are randomly selected to receive these surveys, requesting invoices for purchases made over a one-month period. The data collected from these invoices are used to update the NADAC file on a weekly basis.
Again, these surveys are currently voluntary, and pharmacies are under no obligation to respond. This however may change with a newly introduced bill, Drug Pricing Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023 (H.R. 1613). If passed, this bill would not only make the surveys mandatory for pharmacies to respond but includes many updates to ban spread pricing in State Medicaid Plans. PAAS will keep you informed if, and when this bill passes.
PAAS Tips:
Caremark Invoice Audits – Pharmacy to Pharmacy Purchases
PAAS National® continues to see PBM audits increase as we get further out from the formal end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. One disturbing trend is the number of invoice audits, particularly from Caremark. Oftentimes, Caremark will conduct a “combination” audit where they request copies of prescriptions and signature logs (a traditional desk audit) along with a request for pharmacy invoices that generally cover a 12-month period.
These audits are very large in size and scope, and we have noticed a new twist in enforcement on the invoice audits. Caremark outlines pharmacy network requirements for purchase invoices in the Pharmacy Provider Manual Section 8.05. Caremark states the following,
For those Covered Items received from other pharmacies, where permitted by and consistent with Law, Provider must obtain and maintain the entire Transaction Statement, Transaction History, and Transaction Information from the selling entities.
This mandate exceeds the federal DSCSA requirements that would otherwise allow pharmacies to make purchases from other pharmacies on an occasional basis under a “specific patient need” exception and NOT require communication of the 3Ts, comprised of Transaction Information (TI), Transaction History (TH), and Transaction Statement (TS). PAAS strongly opposes this requirement and will work with pharmacies to vigorously appeal any such invoice audit discrepancies.
Many pharmacies shop around for the lowest cost of goods and have purchased products from other pharmacies under DSCSA’s specific patient need exemption. Remember that this exemption is intended to permit occasional (not routine) purchases to avert patient harm due to supply chain shortages, as patients may be harmed by not getting access to prescribed therapies. Pharmacies with higher volumes of these purchases may be accused of purchasing outside of the specific patient need exemption and buying for general stock, which is not in compliance with DSCSA. Purchasing from other pharmacies can introduce risk that product obtained is illegitimate and could cause patient harm.
While FDA’s track and trace law (DSCSA) is not yet fully operational and many stakeholders are requesting that FDA delay enforcement (including APhA, NACDS, and NCPA), it seems that Caremark is trying to slap on an enforcement badge and bully pharmacies around in the meantime.
PAAS Tips:
Are You Ready for Flu Shot Season? Auditors Are!
It is that time of year again; flu shot season is upon us. As busy as this season can be, we know you do not want to worry if you have all the documentation you need in case of an audit. Make it easy on yourself by ensuring you are ready now by following PAAS National®’s best practices to reduce your risk of audit recoupment.
What you will need for an audit:
VAR and VIS forms, and information regarding what the CDC requires for health care providers to record, can be found on the CDC website.
PAAS Tips:
When Are Final Audit Results Not Final?
Receiving audit results with discrepancies and financial recoupments can be very discouraging. PAAS National® analysts are here to assist you through the appeal process. Audit results do not always provide all appeal options, and you don’t want to miss out on another chance if your initial appeal is denied.
Each PBM has different requirements for appealing discrepancies and different timeframes for when responses must be received. The appeal guidelines can also vary due to State audit laws. Engaging PAAS as soon as possible can make a big difference. PAAS analysts have years of experience with the audit appeal process and can provide information and recommendations to obtain the best possible outcome.
Many pharmacies give up when auditors do not accept appeal documentation and leave the fight too soon – check with your PAAS analyst to ensure you have exhausted all options. One example;
Here are some considerations for appealing OptumRx audits to PARC:
PAAS Tips:
Recent DEA Rule Change – Partial Fills for Schedule II Controlled Substances
The DEA recently updated the rule regarding partial fills of Schedule II (C-II) prescriptions. Pursuant to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016, pharmacies are allowed to partial fill any C-II (e.g., stimulants, opioids, etc.) at the request of the prescriber, or the patient, as long as all the following criteria are met:
The change to 21 CFR 1306.13 (effective August 21, 2023) addresses regulatory requirements not previously addressed in CARA, such as how the prescribing practitioner should indicate the C-II should be partially filled, and how the pharmacist should record the partial fillings.
Prescriber Requested
The DEA rule clarifies that a prescriber “must specify the quantity to be dispensed in each partial filling on the face of the written prescription, in the written record of the emergency oral prescription, or in the record for an electronic prescription”. Additionally, a pharmacist may contact the prescriber after receiving a prescription without a partial fill annotation if the pharmacist believes a partial fill is appropriate, but they do not wish to seek approval from the patient. If the prescriber authorizes the partial fill, “the pharmacist must note the following: “Authorized by Practitioner to Partial Fill,” the name of the practitioner, the date and time of the discussion, and the pharmacist’s initials”.
Patient Requested
The rule also clarifies that the patient, a parent or legal guardian of a minor (under age 18), or an adult patient’s medical power of attorney may request a partial fill. Their request to partial fill may be received via phone or by sending a signed written note to the pharmacy with a family member. “DEA does not interpret the CARA to allow any ‘assumption’ for a justification of a more limited dispensing than originally requested,” therefore, if a partial fill is desired, the request must be made for each C-II prescription. For partial fills, the pharmacist must record “(1) “The [patient, parent or legal guardian of a minor patient, or caregiver of an adult patient named in a medical power of attorney, whichever is applicable] requested partial fill on [date such request was made],” and (2) the quantity dispensed”.
When partial filling C-II prescriptions pursuant to CARA, the DEA clarified that the pharmacist must record the following elements:
PAAS Tips:
Easy Audit Recoupment Prevention: Document Changes in Quantity Dispensed
When you think about preventing recoupments, ensuring the correct NDC is billed, the prescription contains calculable directions, and proper DAW or days’ supply are common focuses; and rightfully so. However, there is another element to be aware of when filling prescriptions: documenting when the dispensed quantity is different than the quantity prescribed.
Why?
Additionally, pharmacies need to be mindful about their contractual obligations with PBMs. As discussed in the September 2022 Newsline article Prescription Quantity Changes Require Documentation, PBMs may have extended days’ supply agreements laid out in their contracts with pharmacies, requiring them to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to dispense more than 30 days’ supplies on medications. As a result, lack of documentation could lead to a situation that PBMs believe the pharmacies are violating their contracts and could end up with decreased reimbursement or required corrective action plans.
How to document?
Here are some additional considerations and PAAS Tips when changing the quantity dispensed:
Decreasing Quantity Dispensed
Increasing Quantity Dispensed
Migraine Medications Continue to Cause Headaches
As PBMs continue to monitor claims for migraine medications, PAAS National® continues to receive questions about billing and the audit risks associated with these claims. When billing a medication to treat or prevent a migraine, pharmacies often struggle with having the correct documentation recorded for audit purposes. Submitting accurate quantities and days’ supply, along with appropriate documentation to support these claims, are the biggest issue PAAS comes across during an audit. PBMs monitor, and flag, these claims due to excessive cost, quantities submitted, days’ supply and/or frequency of refills.
PAAS Tips:
No safety studies for doses
> 3 mg/24 hours and 4 mg/7 days.
30-day period
Please reach out to PAAS (608) 873-1342 or info@paasnational.com with any questions on how to bill for different migraine medications so you don’t end up with a headache!
PAAS Pit Stop: The Member Portal
The PAAS Member Portal is a wealth of information and resources, whether you are part of the Audit Assistance and/or Fraud, Waste, & Abuse and HIPAA Compliance Program. To get the most out of your membership, keep an accurate and up-to-date employee list.
Audit Assistance members: ensuring each staff member is entered into the PAAS Member Portal, along with a separate email address, allows for the entire staff to receive the monthly Newsline with current audit trends, proper filling & billing practices, hot topics, and more. They also have access to search seven years of eNewsline articles in our archive. Additionally, staff will have access to PAAS’ Tools & Resources, with billing charts, guidance documents, and on-demand webinars.
Fraud, Waste, & Abuse and HIPAA Compliance Program members: keeping your PAAS Member Portal current allows you to stay compliant. PAAS completes daily OIG & GSA exclusion checks, which goes beyond the federal expectation of exclusion checks being conducted upon hire and monthly thereafter. It allows the admin and compliance officer to generate a report reflecting when each employee last completed their FWA and HIPAA training and exclusion list check for the specific time frame being requested from the auditor.
In addition, if the auditor is looking for a specific policy or procedure, you can download your pharmacy’s customized FWA/HIPAA compliance manual and print off the corresponding pages of the policy or procedure they are requesting. For onsite audits, utilize PAAS’ onsite credentialing checklist to cross reference policy sections in your manual the auditor may ask for. This provides the auditor with much of the compliance components looked for during an audit in a fraction of the amount of paperwork and time.
PAAS Tips:
Caution with Script Care Audits
PAAS National® has seen a rise in desk audits from Script Care. While this PBM may not be familiar to some pharmacies, we would like to share specific information they have been looking for on their audits.
Prescriptions we have frequently seen flagged discrepant are:
Script Care does not currently have a Provider Manual; however, PAAS has been informed that they plan to release one soon.
Remember to send in any audit request upon first receiving and a PAAS analyst will be happy to assist you through the audit process. You can send in your audits by fax (608) 873-4009, email info@paasnational.com or upload to our portal available on our website under Access Services.