New Mexico
New Mexico has no DPC laws at present and we are not aware of any planned at this time. At least one DPC practice appears to be operating within the state. Be sure to review the New Mexico (Chapter 59A Insurance Code - Justia citation) insurance laws when planning your DPC practice, note that New Mexico makes it very difficult to conduct any in-office dispensing.
Medication Dispensing Issues:
See NM Stat § 26-1-16 (1996 through 1st Sess 50th Legis)
26-1-16. Dangerous drugs; conditions for sale; prescription refilling; limitations.
“Practitioners licensed in this state may prescribe, provide samples of and dispense any dangerous drug to a patient where there is a valid practitioner-patient relationship. A record of all such dispensing shall be kept showing the date the drug was dispensed and bearing the name and address of the patient to whom dispensed. It is the duty of every licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist or person holding a limited license issued under Subsection B of Section 61-11-14 NMSA 1978, when dispensing any dangerous drug, to mark on the dispensing container the name of the patient, the date dispensed, the name and address of the person dispensing the drug, the name and strength of the drug, expiration date where applicable, adequate directions for use and the prescription number when applicable. All official compendium requirements for the preservation, packaging, labeling and storage of dangerous drugs are applicable where drugs are held for dispensing to the public, whether by a pharmacy, clinic, hospital or practitioner.”
“All records required to be kept under the provisions of the New Mexico Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act [26-1-1 NMSA 1978] shall be preserved for a period of three years, provided that records requirements do not apply to the administration of a drug to a patient upon whom the practitioner personally attends, and provided that records of controlled substances shall be kept in accordance with the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.”
Section 16.10.16.9 DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICATIONS
Section A makes it clear that a PA generally may not dispense medications.
Section B contains some confusing language:
"Distribution of a medication shall be restricted to medications repackaged by a licensed pharmacist or a pharmaceutical manufacturer or re-packager. Physician assistants may request, receive and sign for professional sample medications and may distribute sample medications to patients. A log must be kept of distributed medications in accordance with board of pharmacy regulations. Samples requested/received would be appropriate to the scope of the supervising physician's practice and would be consistent with board of pharmacy regulations."
My interpretation: You may dispense medications from wholesalers to your own patients as long as you carefully log them and make no attempt to repackage (count) them in any way.
Questions may be direct to the New Mexico Medical Board.
New Mexico is a managed care state. The state should have a Medicaid managed care provider manual establishing its own rules, but I was not able to locate this document. Molina is a selected managed care provider and they do have a Medicaid Provider Manual that is publicly available. Under page 25 the “Balanced Billing” section the manual states “Providers contracted with Molina cannot bill the Member for any covered benefits. The Provider is responsible for verifying eligibility and obtaining approval for those services that require prior authorization. Providers may not charge Members fees for covered services beyond copayments.”