(a) In order to fairly reimburse pharmacies for the furnishing of prescription drugs to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the director shall update allowable drug product prices within seven days of receiving notice of a drug product price change. Notice to the director shall include, but not be limited to, publication of the price change in the supplier’s catalog or supplement or in nationally distributed drug price reference guides.
(b) No regulation reducing allowable drug product cost reimbursement or removing a drug from the Medi-Cal list of contract drugs shall be operative until at least 30 days after eligible pharmacies have been mailed a notice of the reimbursement limitation by the department or the fiscal intermediary.
(c) The director shall limit the rate of payment for the professional fee portion of prescription services rendered under this chapter pursuant to Section 4064 of the Business and Professions Code or Section 11201 of the Health and Safety Code and the professional fee portion of prescription services rendered as a refill immediately subsequent to such prescription to ensure that the total professional fee paid for the two services does not exceed the professional fee paid for the same prescription refill when provided as a routine service.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 80, Sec. 25.5. Effective July 19, 2005.)