Notifications for Providers

Several times annually, Highmark notifies providers of important policies and guidelines. The following notification is for your information and reference.

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Midyear Preventive Schedule Changes 2020

The preventive schedule is updated twice a year: once in January and once in July. The following changes have been made for the July Update:

• Expansion of HPV vaccine from 26 to include ages 27-45 for those at risk as published in MMWR August 2019. This change will take effect September 1, 2020.

• The TDAP vaccine can be given as a booster every 10 years instead of just using the TD booster.

• The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released an updated B level recommendation that clinicians offer to prescribe risk-reducing medication aromatase inhibitors (AI), to the existing drugs tamoxifen, raloxifene,  to asymptomatic women who are 35 years or older and at increased risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse medication effects beginning on October 1, 2020. AIs are not FDA approved for breast cancer prevention, therefore, the drugs will be offered as second line drugs when prescribed by a physician indicating there is a contraindication or the other drugs are not tolerated.

• The USPSTF released a new A level recommendation that clinicians offer preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with effective antiretroviral therapy to persons who are at high risk of HIV acquisition, effective July 1, 2020 .