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Pharmacy board asks for 3% raises and $118,000 for recovery and mental‑health contractor services
Summary
The Mississippi Board of Pharmacy told the Appropriations committee it seeks a 3% staff pay raise and roughly $118,000 to hire contract evaluators and treatment providers to expand a recovery and mental‑health pathway for licensees, citing growth in nonresident compounding and regulatory workload.
Susan McCoy, executive director of the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy, told the Senate Appropriations committee the agency is seeking a 3% pay increase for specialized staff and additional contract funding to expand treatment and evaluation services for licensees facing substance‑use or mental‑health issues. "We've asked for a 3% raise for our people," McCoy said, explaining the board’s work now spans pharmacists, technicians, wholesalers, manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers as well as an increase in nonresident facility licenses and compounding operations.
McCoy said the board has issued an RFP to broaden its recovering‑pharmacist program to include mental‑health services and noted that federal rules (FDA, DEA) and a growing set of outsourcer/compounder operations have increased workload. Senator Hill described related legislation that gives the board authority to use contracted treatment providers so licensees who self‑report can receive treatment without a disciplinary mark on their license. The board described an $118,000 contractual line item to pay those providers and said it expects to cover salary increases and the contract by reprioritizing contractual funds; it also requested continued ITS support for licensing system needs.
