In the year after the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rescheduled hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to II, 26.3 million fewer hydrocodone combination product prescriptions were written and 1.1 billion fewer were dispensed, according to a study published in the [Read more...]

West Virginia pharmacies are dispensing significantly fewer doses of the state's most popular prescription painkiller.  The number of hydrocodone products, such as Vicodin and Lortab, dropped by nearly 13 million tablets last year, following a U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration change that put [Read more...]

The pharmacy benefit manager industry is coming under increased scrutiny by insurance companies and large chain pharmacies, according to news reports.    Audits and reconciliation of reimbursement by a large insurer and at least one chain have revealed some PBMs are coming up short on [Read more...]

As WVPA reported February 17, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued directives to states addressing key areas of Medicaid drug reimbursement beginning in 2017.  The CMS final rule is designed to ensure that pharmacy reimbursement is aligned with acquisition costs of drugs [Read more...]