Medicaid Prescription Pad Law Takes Effect April 1

After a six-month delay, CMS will start requiring physicians to use tamper-resistant prescription pads when prescribing for Medicaid patients beginning April 1.

The new requirement, which was part of an appropriations act passed last summer, will deny federal payment to states for Medicaid prescriptions that are not written on tamper-resistant prescription pads. The law is intended to save the Medicaid program money and to prevent patients from illegally obtaining drugs.

The law currently does not cover prescriptions that are faxed, e-mailed or verbally transmitted to a pharmacy. In addition, prescriptions filled on an emergency basis are allowed on noncompliant prescription pads, as are prescriptions that a managed care organization pays for, according to CMS.

The law originally was supposed to take effect on Oct. 1, 2007, but physicians and pharmacists voiced strong concerns about the start date, saying it did not give them enough time to comply with the regulation. As a result, federal lawmakers passed legislation delaying the start date to April 1 of this year.