Part of SB-863 was the reform to section 4603.2(b)(1), which imposed on “[a]ny provider of services provided pursuant to Section 4600” to submit its request for payment with an itemization of services … and a copy of … the prescription or referral from the primary treating physician.”

This was great idea – a bill processor could put the prescription and the bill side by side and refuse to pay for any medication not on the prescription.

About that… Governor Brown has signed into law Senate Bill 146, which gives pharmacies a pass.  No longer will pharmacies have to submit the prescription they filled with their bills, and those that had their bills denied in the past will have until March 31, 2014, to resubmit those bills.

Now, your humble blogger has to wonder, doesn’t a pharmacy need a prescription to give out the drugs? Or do they just have the pills sitting on the counter for anyone to pick up?

If you have the prescription when you hand out the meds… why not keep a copy in your file? And then, why not just produce it with your bill?

In any case, this is just one of many efforts we can expect to slowly chip away at the ground gained by SB-863.  The surprising thing for your humble blogger is that this came from the legislature – couldn’t you guys have figured this out while you were drafting SB-863 to begin with?