Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1419 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 896 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1419
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Christopher J. Worrell
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to pharmacy deserts.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk1/13/2025Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/23/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 896 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1419
18	18	By Representative Worrell of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1419) of
19	19	Christopher J. Worrell and Mindy Domb that the Office of Health Resource Planning of the
20	20	Health Policy Commission conduct an assessment of the supply, distribution and capacity of
21	21	pharmacies and pharmacological services. Health Care Financing.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act relative to pharmacy deserts.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 (a) The office of health resource planning established in section 22 of chapter 6D of the
31	31	2General Laws, inserted by section 22 of chapter 343 of the Acts of 2024, shall conduct a focused
32	32	3assessment on supply, distribution and capacity of pharmacy and pharmacological services
33	33	4pursuant to subsection (b) of said section 22. The office, when conducting its focused
34	34	5assessment, shall also identify the number of existing and potential pharmacy deserts in the
35	35	6commonwealth and conduct an analysis of their impact or potential impact on access to
36	36	7pharmacy and pharmacological services for residents located in the identified areas. For the
37	37	8purposes of this section, a “pharmacy desert” shall mean an area where there is no or limited
38	38	9access to pharmacies due to factors such as: (i) geographic location, specifically areas where the
39	39	10nearest pharmacy is more than 1 mile away in urban areas, more than 5 miles away in suburban
40	40	11areas and more than 10 miles away in rural areas; (ii) distance and travel time, defined as travel
41	41	12time exceeding 15 minutes by car or 30 minutes by public transportation; and (iii) limited access 2 of 3
42	42	13to transportation, both public and private, including areas with infrequent public transit services
43	43	14or where at least 20 per cent of the population lacks access to private vehicles.
44	44	15 (b) Not later than September 1, 2026, the office shall present to the board of the health
45	45	16policy commission its findings based on the focused assessment conducted under subsection (a)
46	46	17and file a report of its findings with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the
47	47	18house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care financing,
48	48	19the center for health information and analysis, the health policy commission and the department
49	49	20of public health. In addition to the findings required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section
50	50	2122, report of the office shall analyze the impact or potential impact of pharmacy deserts
51	51	22identified by the focused assessment, including, but not limited:
52	52	23 (i) an assessment on impacted neighborhoods and patient populations;
53	53	24 (ii) an assessment on the impact of pharmacy deserts on access to medications and health
54	54	25care outcomes;
55	55	26 (iii) an assessment of the geographical and financial barriers to obtaining medications
56	56	27faced by individuals living in pharmacy deserts;
57	57	28 (iv) an assessment of the average distance and travel time to a pharmacy from an
58	58	29impacted neighborhood, and the transportation options available;
59	59	30 (v) an assessment on the impact of pharmacy deserts on overall health care costs,
60	60	31including the costs of emergency department visits and hospitalizations;
61	61	32 (vi) an assessment on the impact of pharmacy benefit manager business practices in
62	62	33contributing to the closures of pharmacies across the commonwealth; and 3 of 3
63	63	34 (vii) policy recommendations to address current pharmacy deserts and limit the creation
64	64	35of new ones.