Public Notices

public_notices Wisconsin Administrative Register No. 651, 3/31/2010

Public Notices

Department of Administration

Notice of Change in Fiscal Estimate

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That pursuant to section 227.14 (4) (d), Stats., the Department of Administration has revised the fiscal estimate for the proposed rule amending Chapter Adm 21, CR 08-025, relating to construction contracting for facilities owned by the State of Wisconsin.

The Department has determined that it will seek a vendor solution for the electronic bid submission process proposed in Chapter Adm 21. A vendor provided and hosted bidding website will ensure the security and reliability required by the Department and prospective bidders on state projects. The Department estimates the vendor costs for developing the electronic website will be $100,000 to $250,000. The Department has budgeted for these costs and intends to absorb some costs through a 4% management fee charged against projects. On-going annual maintenance costs for vendor products will also be absorbed and funded through the 4% management fee.

While the exact amount of costs to prospective bidders has not been fully determined, it is expected that some portion of the fees will be offset by the convenience of submitting a bid via a secure electronic submission instead of incurring the associated travel and delivery expenses required for submission of paper bids. The Department will attempt to seek out vendors with the lowest cost of operation to the Department and prospective bidders.

A copy of the complete fiscal estimate and proposed rule can be obtained from Department.

Agency Contact Person

Donna Sorenson

Department of Administration

101 E. Wilson Street

P.O. Box 7864

Madison, WI 53707-7864

Phone:   [phone]

Email:   [e-mail]

Department of Health Services

Maximum Allowable Cost for Drugs with More than One Manufacturer

The State of Wisconsin reimburses pharmacies for services provided to low-income persons under the authority of Title XIX of the Federal Social Security Act and sections 49.43 to 49.47, Wisconsin Statutes. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) administers this program, which is called Medical Assistance or Medicaid. In addition, the state of Wisconsin reimburses pharmacies for services provided under the authority of chapters 49.471, 49.665, and 49.688, Wisconsin Statutes.

Under the Wisconsin State Medicaid Plan as approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DHS establishes maximum allowable fees for all covered pharmaceutical items provided to Wisconsin Medicaid recipients. The Plan further specifies that DHS will provide public notice in advance of the effective date of any significant change in maximum allowable fees. Federal regulations at 42 CFR §§ 447.512 – 447.518 establish certain aggregate upper limits in State Medicaid expenditures for drugs. This notice is to announce new maximum allowable costs for drugs with more than one manufacturer.

Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC)

When multiple generic equivalent drugs become available, the Department establishes the MAC, (an upper limit for payment of brand or generic version of the same drug for federal and over-the-counter products), regardless of the manufacturer. The Department uses marketplace research or best estimate of prices currently and generally paid for those drugs.

Drug costs will be calculated based on the package size from which the prescription was dispensed, as indicated by the NDC. The only exceptions are for those drugs for which quantity minimums are specified by federal regulations and for drugs listed on the Wisconsin MAC list.

Effective for dates of service on and after April 1, 2010, DHS is proposing to establish new MACs in accordance with the approved Wisconsin State Plan, including MACs for drugs that have not previously had a MAC established. The MACs are published by DHS and are available in the data table section of the Pharmacy page, located in the Provider area of the ForwardHealth Portal at www.forwardhealth.wi.gov.

This proposal is estimated to reduce WI Medicaid expenditures by $25 million, all funds, in SFY10.

Copies of Proposed Changes

A copy of the proposed change is available for review at the main office of any county department of social services or human services.

A copy of the proposed changes may also be obtained free of charge by calling or writing as follows:

Regular Mail:

James Vavra

Division of Health Care Access and Accountability

P.O. Box 309

Madison, 53701-0309

Phone:

James Vavra

[phone]

FAX:

[phone]

Attention: James Vavra

E-Mail:

[e-mail]

Written Comments

Written comments are welcome. Written comments on the changes may be sent by FAX, e-mail, or regular mail to the Division of Health Care Access and Accountability. The FAX number is [phone]. The e-mail address is [e-mail]. Regular mail can be sent to the above address.

The written comments will be available for public review between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily in Room 350 of the State Office Building, 1 West Wilson Street, Madison, Wisconsin.