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