Bill would allow pharmacies to provide emergency contraceptives
Legislative panel OKs measure, which heads to House of Representatives
Connecticut pharmacists would be allowed to sell emergency contraceptives under a bill that passed along party lines by a key legislative committee on Thursday.
Minority Republicans on the General Law Committee, led by Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, complained that they did not have adequate time to review the bill and voted against the legislation, which was proposed in January by Gov. Ned Lamont and next heads to the state House of Representatives.
State Rep. David Yaccarino, R-North Haven, said he was concerned that pharmacists might not be properly trained to provide treatments.
In accompanying legislation approved by the committee and heading to the Senate, pharmacies could set up mobile units; and properly trained pharmacists would be allowed to test for additional conditions such as HIV/ AIDS, COVID-19 and influenza, and provide for additional vaccinations and treatments beyond what they are allowed now.
Under that bill, during periods of closure, pharmacies would have to put up signs announcing the closures, caused mostly by a lack of trained personnel exacerbated in the COVID pandemic. Consumers would be directed to other nearby pharmacies where they could pick up prescriptions. Emergency contraceptives could also be sold in vending machines.
“I would think that a physician would be doing this,” Yaccarino said. “It’s vitally important for a woman’s health, or anyone’s health.”
State Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, co-chairman of the committee, responded that while state physicians spoke against the test and treatment of AIDS patients, they did not speak against the emergency contraceptive issues.
“I’m just a little concerned for the woman’s health and also the pharmacy, they can be liable,” Yaccarino said. “I just don’t feel comfortable with that piece of the proposed bill.”
Sen. Paul Cicarella, RNorth Haven, said that while the issue is “a good idea,” he was concerned about potential negative consequences. “I do think it’s important that we make health care and these important things easier to have access, and we know how hard it is to get a doctor’s appointment.” He said that while doctors know patient medical histories, pharmacists might not.
Maroney said he said that insurance issues are not addressed in the bill, but the companies routinely have insurance coverage.
“As we’re talking about pharmacies closing because of a lack of staff, we’re now putting a lot more responsibility and workload on our pharmacists, and I think it’s going to compound a problem that we’re already having,” Cicarella said.
During recent testimony before the committee, Michelle Seagull, commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection, which regulates pharmacies, supported legislation to expand vaccinations that pharmacists can administer to patients 12 to 18 years of age. Such treatment was allowed under federal emergency declarations during the pandemic, but it expires on May 11.
The legislative package, with both bills amended in recent days, creates a procedure to allow druggists to run mobile pharmacies in temporary locations for clinics, vaccination or opioid-antagonist training as well as prescription events, particularly in underserved communities.
“There’s definitely been a disconnect between physicians and pharmacists on a lot of these issues,” said Kissel, who was elected in 1992. “For the record, because a lot of these changes in the language probably occurred in the last 24 hours, I just want to digest what’s going on.”
He said that during the pandemic, many pharmacists left the profession because of the stress.
“That, on top of things about what we’re going to put in vending machines and other aspects, I just have concerns,” Kissel added. “I have the utmost respect for pharmacists, but if it’s a battle of scope of practice or concerns, I am probably going to defer to physicians unless I see a ton of information that causes me to feel very comfortable expanding pharmacy practice.”
Maroney said that a separate piece of legislation on pharmacy closures was folded into the legislative package. “We’ve all had constituents with issues regarding unannounced pharmacy closures,” he said. “We’ve heard where some of them were closed for four days. This will require notification, but also make it so that you can get your prescription at a nearby pharmacy.”
Also approved by the committee was a data privacy protection and artificial intelligence bill that would establish an Office of Artificial Intelligence; exempt airliners from certain provisions on data disclosure; protect the data of young teens and establish a task force to study artificial intelligence in its use by state offices, such as licensing applications.