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Parents, Patients Urge Committee to Pass Emergency Insulin Access Bills H1212, H1240
Summary
Multiple witnesses told the Joint Committee on Financial Services that pharmacists should be allowed to dispense insulin in emergencies without a new prescription, citing life‑threatening risks when people run out. Testimony cited prior ICU cases, state experience elsewhere and requested action on H1212 and H1240.
Chair Shane Murphy and Co‑Chair Senator Feeney heard more than a half dozen personal accounts Monday urging the Joint Committee on Financial Services to approve bills that would allow pharmacists to dispense insulin in emergencies (H1212 and H1240).
Witnesses said insulin is life‑sustaining for people with type 1 diabetes and that delays in access can rapidly lead to diabetic ketoacidosis and death. “For people like me, insulin is not optional. It's life support,” said Jessica Bongolar of Arlington, who said she spent four days in an ICU after running out of insulin as a teenager. “No one with diabetes in Massachusetts should ever die because their doctor wasn't reachable or their insurer…
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