Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Privacy protected and other protected information is considered confidential and restricted from public access for 75 years (Code of Virginia 42.1-78). Types of information and records restricted may include but are not limited to: personal information (2.2-3801) and medical records. It is necessary for an archivist to review any unprocessed, modern record collections (those collections less than 75 years old) that may contain privacy protected or confidential information before the records can be used by patrons for research purposes or before any copies can be made. If you are planning to use these records, please contact Archives Reference Services for more details before planning your research trip.

Use Restrictions

There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Pharmacy Records of the Virginia Dept. of Medical Assistance Services, 2003-2004. State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Archives Branch, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession 51781 transferred by Dept. of Medical Assistance Services, 07 July 2016.

Processing Information

This collection has been processed using minimal standards: the original arrangement has been maintained, the container list is brief and simple and is created from a list provided by the agency, and the records have not been refoldered and fasteners have not been removed.

Historical Information

In 1965 President Johnson signed into law a bill creating the Medicare and Medicaid programs of the Social Security Act. The following year the General Assembly authorized the development of a medical assistance program (Medicaid) to provide comprehensive health care services to Virginia’s poor. Virginia’s Medicaid program became operational in 1969 under the Dept. of Health and in 1985 a separate organization entity, the Dept. of Medical Assistance Services, was created to administer the program, which was the sole function of the DMAS until 1989.

The mission of the Dept. of Medical Assistance Services is to provide information, expertise and policy recommendations that enable policy makers to plan for the provision of indigent health care services and to administer the financing of health care services to ensure access to those services for eligible persons within applicable laws and available sources. The Department strives to ensure that the categorically and medically needy citizens of the Commonwealth have financial access to cost effective, comprehensive health care delivery systems by administering the following: Medicaid program, Indigent Health Care Trust Fund, State and Local Hospital Program, Involuntary Commitment Program, Regular Assisted Living Payment for Residents of Adult Homes, Health Premium Assistance Program for HIV-positive Individuals, and the Virginia Children’s Medical Security Insurance Plan Trust Fund. The Department also ensures that services are medically necessary and of acceptable quality and that services and payments are in compliance with state, federal and program regulations.

Scope and Content

Pharmacy records, 2003-2004, consist of records related to the establishment of the Preferred Drug List and Threshold Program (PDL) and the Maximum Allowable Cost Program (MAC), both related to Medicaid coverage of prescription drugs. Includes records of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and the Preferred Drug List Implementation Advisory Group. Includes meeting records (agendas, minutes, notes), correspondence, presentation materials, and reports.