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Governor Murphy Vetoes
Bill Authorizing Pharmacists to Order and Administer COVID-19 Tests
Bill S2436, which passed both
the Senate and Assembly, allows for licensed pharmacists, consistent with
federal guidance and waivers, to order or administer to any person any COVID-19
test that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized for use. Under
the bill, the pharmacy must distribute personal protection equipment
("PPE") to all pharmacy staff and ensure that policies and protocols
are in place to ensure all people presenting at the pharmacy for any reason
maintain a level of social distancing appropriate to prevent the transmission
of COVID-19. In addition, the pharmacist is required to ensure
compliance with all State and federal requirements concerning a positive test
for COVID-19, including reporting and data collection requirements. Governor
Murphy vetoed the bill
requesting amendments to expand the bill to include testing for COVID-19
antibodies and make sure that administering a test includes collecting or
overseeing the collection of a specimen and causing the specimen to be sent to
a laboratory with the capacity to perform the test.
New
Jersey Approves Assessment Bill
S2676, which recently became law,
requires certain entities authorized to issue health benefits plans, including
insurance companies, health service corporations, and hospitals, to pay annual
assessments based on net written premiums. Specifically, the bill requires
these entities to pay an annual assessment that is 2.5% of the entity’s net
written premiums as defined by the bill. These entities will also have to
annually file with the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance their net written
premiums for the preceding year, no later than April 1 of each year, and then
the commissioner must calculate and issue to the entity a certified assessment
that is 2.5% of the entity’s net written premiums. Payment of the
assessment must be paid no later than May 1 of each year. The Office of
Legislative Services ("OLS") estimates that this bill will result in
annual State revenue increases of about $390 million starting in calendar year
2021. The bill takes effect on
January 1, 2021.
Federal
Final Regulation Regarding the Basic Health Program Under the Affordable Care
Act
85 FR 49264: Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has finalized a rule setting forth the
methodology and data sources necessary to determine federal payment amounts to
be made for program year 2021 to states that elect to establish a Basic Health
Program (“BHP”) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. BHPs
allow states to offer health benefits coverage to low-income individuals under
age 65 who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid, the Children’s Health
Insurance Program, or affordable employer-sponsored coverage. The
methodology and data sources are effective January 1, 2021.
Federal Proposed Rule in Calculating Patient
Days
85 FR 47723: This rule would establish a
policy concerning the treatment of patient days associated with persons
enrolled in a Medicare Part C (also known as ‘‘Medicare Advantage’’) plan for
purposes of calculating a hospital’s disproportionate patient percentage for
cost reporting periods starting before FY 2014. The proposed rule comes in
response to the Supreme Court ruling in Azar v. Allina Health Services,
which held that the Department of Health & Human Services
("HHS") must provide notice and an opportunity to comment before
implementing a rule changing its Medicare reimbursement formula. The
proposed rule requests comment on its proposals to include Medicare Advantage
patient days in the Medicare fraction for fiscal years before FY 2014, or
alternatively, to include Medicare Advantage patient days for dually eligible
beneficiaries in the numerator of the Medicaid fraction for those fiscal
years.
