Congress Delays Implementation of New Tamper-Resistant Prescription Pad Requirement

In the final days before the new prescription pad requirement was to take effect, the House and Senate approved legislation to delay by six months the implementation of the new requirement for tamper-resistant pads for all Medicaid prescriptions.  The legislation was signed by President Bush On September 30. Because of the lead time required, the October issue of this publication reported that the requirement would take effect September 30; however, the intervening events moved the date to the end of March 2008.

On August 17, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicaid and State Operations issued a letter and informational background document to State Medicaid Directors to provide guidance on the upcoming requirement that tamper-resistant prescription pads be used for all Medicaid prescriptions. To be considered tamper resistant, prescription pads must contain at least ONE of the following characteristics:

1. One or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent unauthorized copying of a completed or blank prescription form;

2. One or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber; and

3. One of more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the use of counterfeit prescription forms.

By October 1, 2008, prescription pads must meet all THREE of these characteristics to be considered tamper-resistant. States are free to exceed these baseline standards to make their own determination as to what constitutes an acceptable tamper-resistant prescription pad in their state.