News Briefs: CMS Revamps Reporting Standards

CMS on July 6 released new reporting requirements for states regarding Medicaid and CHIP. The new reporting requirements include updated network adequacy and access standards, a standard format for medical loss ratio reporting, and updates to a web portal for reporting submissions and, eventually, rolled-up data and dashboards compiled from regulatory filings. “The tools we’re releasing today reflect the latest — and certainly not the last — step CMS is taking to increase transparency and ensure that people served through Medicaid and CHIP managed care programs are receiving high-quality, high-value care,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in a press release. 

The FDA will allow pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid. Patients may be prescribed Paxlovid from a state-licensed pharmacist if they test positive for COVID-19 and provide “electronic or printed health records less than 12 months old, including the most recent reports of laboratory blood work for the state-licensed pharmacist to review for kidney or liver problems,” and “a list of all medications they are taking, including over-the-counter medications so the state-licensed pharmacist can screen for drugs with potentially serious interactions with Paxlovid,” per an FDA press release. The federal government purchased a large amount of Paxlovid doses and has distributed them to pharmacies and clinics across the country — though the drug is not being used as widely as experts predicted.