House File 2585 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2585 BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2033) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the provision of accessible 1 prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, 2 have a visual impairment, or other print disability. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5784HV (2) 91 ak/ko

H.F. 2585 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 155A.49 Accessible 1 prescription-related measures —— persons who are blind, 2 visually impaired, or have other print disabilities. 3 1. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 4 to ensure that on or before January 1, 2027, if a person who 5 is blind, has a visual impairment, or other print disability 6 requests access to prescription drug labels, bag tags, and 7 medical guides, a pharmacy provides access to prescription drug 8 labels, bag tags, and medical guides, or refers the person to 9 a pharmacy that provides access to prescription drug labels, 10 bag tags, and medical guides. The accessibility measures shall 11 meet all of the following requirements: 12 a. Be provided at no additional cost to such persons. 13 b. After a reasonable development period for the pharmacy, 14 provide required information on prescription drug labels, bag 15 tags, and medical guides in a format that is fully accessible 16 to such persons within a time frame comparable to a person that 17 is not blind, does not have a visual impairment, or other print 18 disability. 19 2. On or before April 1 of each year, the board shall 20 publish a list on the board’s internet site that contains the 21 pharmacies that provide accessibility measures. 22 3. This section shall apply to any pharmacy that is 23 dispensing prescription drugs in the state except for the 24 following: 25 a. An institutional pharmacy. For the purpose of this 26 subsection, “institutional pharmacy” means a pharmacy located 27 within a hospital, nursing home, or long-term care facility. 28 b. A pharmacy participating in a prescription drug donation 29 repository program pursuant to chapter 135M, if the drug being 30 dispensed was donated under the program. 31 c. A pharmacy in a jail, a state correctional institution, a 32 federal correctional facility, or a juvenile detention home. 33 4. In adopting rules under this section, the board shall 34 solicit input from persons who are blind, have a visual 35 -1- LSB 5784HV (2) 91 ak/ko 1/ 3

H.F. 2585 impairment, or other print disability. 1 5. The rules adopted under this section shall meet all of 2 the following requirements: 3 a. Comply with current guidelines and recommendations from 4 the United States government accountability office, and current 5 industry standards. 6 b. Include a method for providing notice to the public 7 that accessible prescription drug labels, bag tags, and 8 medical guides are available, including notice regarding the 9 availability of the prescription drug labels, bag tags, and 10 medical guides in audio format. 11 Sec. 2. ACCESSIBLE PRESCRIPTION-RELATED MEASURES —— 12 REPORT. The board of pharmacy shall submit a report to the 13 governor and the general assembly on or before January 1, 14 2028, that provides a summary of the progress on implementing 15 rules, and recommendations for additional measures to improve 16 accessibility. 17 EXPLANATION 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 19 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 20 This bill relates to the provision of accessible 21 prescription-related measures for persons who are blind, have a 22 visual impairment, or other print disability. 23 The bill requires the board of pharmacy (board) to adopt 24 administrative rules on or before January 1, 2027, to ensure 25 that if a person who is blind, has a visual impairment, or 26 other print disability requests access to prescription drug 27 labels, bag tags, and medical guides, a pharmacy provides 28 access to such, or refers the person to a pharmacy that 29 provides access to prescription drug labels, bag tags, and 30 medical guides. 31 The bill provides that accessibility measures shall be 32 provided by a pharmacy at no additional cost to such person; 33 and information required to be provided on prescription drug 34 labels, bag tags, and medical guides shall be provided in a 35 -2- LSB 5784HV (2) 91 ak/ko 2/ 3

H.F. 2585 format that is fully accessible to such persons within a time 1 frame comparable to a person who is not blind, does not have a 2 visual impairment, or other print disability. 3 The bill requires the board to publish, on or before April 1 4 of each year, a list on the board’s internet site of pharmacies 5 that provide accessibility measures. 6 The bill applies to any pharmacy dispensing prescription 7 drugs in the state except for an institutional pharmacy; a 8 pharmacy participating in a prescription drug repository 9 program under Code chapter 135M, if the drug being dispensed 10 was donated under the program; a pharmacy in a jail, a state 11 correctional institution, a federal correctional facility, or 12 a juvenile detention home. The bill defines “institutional 13 pharmacy”. 14 Under the bill, the board is required to solicit input 15 in developing the rules from persons who are blind, have a 16 visual impairment, or other print disability. The rules shall 17 comply with guidelines and recommendations from the United 18 States government accountability office and current industry 19 standards, and shall include a method for providing notice to 20 the public that accessible prescription drug labels, bag tags, 21 and medical guides are available. 22 Under the bill, the board shall submit a report to the 23 governor and the general assembly on or before January 1, 24 2028, that provides a summary on the progress on implementing 25 rules, and recommendations and additional measures to improve 26 accessibility. 27 -3- LSB 5784HV (2) 91 ak/ko 3/ 3