Senate Approves A Delay in the Use of tamper proof prescription pads

The Senate has passed a bill to enact a six-month delay, on the effective date of a federal requirement that Medicaid drug prescriptions be written on tamper-resistant paper. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio sponsored this measure. Now the delay provision is under review in the House version, which sponsor Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, hopes will pass this week. Brown, Voinovich and Wilson, along with Ohio pharmacists, the AMCNO and other organizations as well as advocates for the poor have been working hard to persuade Congress to delay the law, set to take effect Monday. The Ohio lawmakers say they hope the six-month delay will give doctors and pharmacists time to learn how to comply with the law without it posing problems for them or their patients.