On Dec. 7 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a California case in which AIDS patients claim they are being discriminated against. The claim of discrimination stems from the practice of Pharmacy Benefit Managers requiring these patients to get their prescriptions from mail-order pharmacies.

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the FDA on Monday, making it the first vaccine against COVID-19 to receive full approval. It will be marketed as Comirnaty, and is available for individuals ages 16 and older. However, the vaccine is still under emergency use authorization (EUA) for those age 12-15.

The three largest drug distributors in the U.S. have agreed to pay up to $1.18 billion to settle claims by the state of New York according the the state's attorney general. The deal was reached with McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

The Michigan state house recently passed Michigan House Bill 4348, 97-10. This bill is now scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee this Thursday, June 17. We need your help. Please contact the members of the Senate Committee on Health Policy and Human Services and urge them to support this legislation.

Earlier this month, Colorado legislators passed House Bill 21-1275. This modified the state Medicaid program to include payments to pharmacists for clinical services under the medical benefit. This requires Colorado Medicaid plans to cover medically necessary services provided by a pharmacist under certain circumstances in compliance with state scope of practice laws.

A recent opinion piece published in the Waukesha Freeman and written by pharmacist and former co-owner of Tobin Drug, Dave Schultz, did an excellent job of highlighting the issues pharmacists continue to face as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be nearing its end.