Council Members:

RWJBarnabas Health

Barbara Giacomelli, PharmD, MBA, FASHP
VP Advisory
Pharmaceutical Solutions and Services
McKesson RxO 

Carlo Lupano, RPh, CCP, MBA, FASHP
Pharmacy Manager
Residency Program Director
Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care
Robert & Audrey Luckow Pavilion

Jennifer Nacion, PharmD
PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident
The Valley Hospital Pharmacy Department
Valley Health System

The Council on Public Policy monitors the healthcare political landscape at the local, state and national levels in regard to pharmacy practice. Members of this council attend New Jersey Board of Pharmacy meetings, collaborate with other professional and non-profit organizations, and ASHP affiliates from other States to advance practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in New Jersey. The activities of the council are rooted in Advocacy for pharmacy practice to expand the scope of pharmacy practice in New Jersey to allow our fellow New Jersey residents to benefit from the expertise and skills of pharmacists and technicians.

The Council may ask NJSHP members to connect with local elected officials and correspond with lawmakers at all levels to express your views and expertise. Our combined advocacy efforts will strengthen our profession.

To join this Council, please print and fill out the Council Involvement Form.

Some of the topics the council is involved with are:

• Obtaining Provider Status
• Collaborative Practice regulations (aka Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM)
• Opioid epidemic and its laws and regulations
• Providing education on what Health System Pharmacists do
• UPS 797 and USP 800
• 340b

Public Policy Council Updates for Fall 2021

The Council on Public Policy has had an active start to fall with multiple meetings and projects underway. Council members attended recent New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Meetings and ASHP State Legislative and Regulatory Conference Calls. Council members attended meetings with staff members from the offices of Senator Menendez and Representative Malinowski as part of ASHP’s Virtual Legislative Week.

The Council on Public Policy has been working with affiliates with other states to evaluate ways to expand the scope of practice for pharmacists in New Jersey. In New Jersey Legislation is currently in committee review to allow pharmacists to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives. The Council will keep the membership updated as the bill advances through the state legislature.

The White Bagging position statement resource was completed by the Council and is available in the Members section of the NJSHP Website. This resource can serve as a tool for Health System Pharmacy leaders to assertively advocate limiting White Bagging as a means to prevent patient harm and minimize other negative downstream effects caused by insurer driven White-Bagging requirements.

As many members will be aware, HHS modified the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act which expands the role of pharmacists in administering COVID-19 treatments. The council is working to request the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy to update New Jersey regulations to allow for pharmacist administered medications.

ASHP Policy Week

NJSHP leadership and the Public Policy Council participated in ASHP’s Policy Week last week, meeting with representatives of the offices of Menendez, Booker, and Sherrill on the following issues:

• 340B drug pricing program

• COVID-19 testing and vaccination reimbursement

• Telehealth services reimbursement
  

• Eliminating X-waivers to increase providers who can prescribe MAT for opioid addiction

CMS Should Make Virtual Supervision Flexibility Permanent

NJSHP members,

NJSHP partnered with health-systems and professional groups to demonstrate support of CMS making permanent the current temporary regulatory flexibility allowing physicians to provide direct supervision of clinical staff virtually, using real-time audio/video technology. Attached is the letter sent to Administrator Seema Verma.

Regards,
Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Director, Public Policy
New Jersey Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Click here to view the letter

A Letter to Congressional Leaders on Medicaid Funding

As a part of our public policy advocacy efforts, NJSHP is one of 24 state affiliates who signed on to a letter drafted by ASHP to Congressional leaders requesting an increase in federal funding for Medicaid and other state-based safety net programs. The goal of this increase is to protect patients' access to care during the COVID-19 emergency. The letter asks that economic stimulus discussions include strategies to maximize the sustainability of Medicaid  so that patients may continue to seek the care they need. This letter is a direct result of feedback from state affiliates, including New Jersey, regarding the impact state budget cuts could have on the healthcare system.

The letter can be found by clicking here.

Yours in service, 

Daniel T. Abazia, PharmD, BCPS, CPPS

President | NJSHP

Policies Approved by the 2020 ASHP House of Delegates

To view the document with the updated policies, please click here to download