Prescription restriction ends

30-day refill limit lifted for emergency

State health officials recommend that Floridians have at least one month’s supply of medications they take regularly as part of their hurricane planning.

Yet insurance limits refills on many prescriptions to once a month, meaning you can’t stock up.

No worries. Florida law allows for fast-tracked prescription refills once the governor has declared a state of emergency, or a hurricane warning has been issued. You can obtain a 30-day supply with no price increase, according to the Florida Department of Health, even if you recently refilled your prescription.

The law also allows pharmacists to dispense a 72-hour emergency supply of medication as long as the patient has refills available for that medication.

Bring these things with you to the pharmacy if you want an emergency refill: a photo ID; the pill bottle from the last refill that includes information about the pharmacy that dispensed it; the name, address and phone number of the prescribing physician; the original prescription, if possible; and information about your insurance provider, if appropriate.

Special arrangements must be made for controlled drugs such as oxycontin.

Veterans who receive their medications through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs health-care system also can receive emergency refills through local pharmacies. Veterans should take their VA benefits card and their pill bottle to a local drug store, and ask the pharmacist to call Heritage Health Solutions Customer Care Center at 866-265-0124.

For information about other storm-related healthcare matters, veterans can call the VA’s hotline at 800-507-4571.