Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Provides Information Regarding Changes to Coverage of Prescription Drugs for Members of MCPs

Beginning with date of service February 1, 2010, prescription drug coverage for members of Medicaid MCPs will transfer to the Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) program. This change means that all Medicaid consumers will have the same list of covered drugs and same prior authorization policy. Medicaid MCPs are no longer responsible for prescription drug coverage for their members. This change is only for prescription drugs that are administered in the patient's home, not for any drugs that are administered in a provider setting such as physician office, hospital outpatient department, clinic, dialysis center, or infusion center. Drugs administered in a home health setting should be billed through the fee-for-service pharmacy program. Some medical supplies, such as diabetic testing supplies, supplies for injection of insulin and other drugs, inhaler spacers, and peak flow meters, will only be able to be billed by pharmacies (including hospital pharmacies) and will no longer be covered when billed by any other provider type, including durable medical equipment (DME) dealers, clinics, or individual physician offices. ODJFS also has issued information about CyberAccess, a secure web site that allows Ohio Medicaid providers to review the Medicaid prescription claims history for their patients, review prescription prior authorizations, and send electronic prescriptions (eprescribe) for their Medicaid patients. Prescriptions billed through the FFS program may be subject to co-payments. In addition, the federal requirement for tamper-resistant prescription pads will now include prescriptions for members of MCPs because they will be billed to the FFS program. Each of these topics is explained in more detail in a letter issued by the ODJFS. To view the letter go to:
http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us//lpc/calendar/fileLINKNAME.asp?ID=MAL561