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Hearing held on bill to let pharmacists dispense devices tied to prescriptions
Summary
Supporters told the committee House Bill 1249 would let pharmacists provide devices such as spacers, nebulizers and diabetic testing supplies when a patient has the related prescription, improving access and reducing emergency room visits; the committee held the hearing and moved into executive session without a final vote.
Representative Dan Bayu, the prime sponsor, told the committee that House Bill 1249 would allow pharmacists to provide medical devices that are necessary to administer prescription medications without a separate prescription for the device. He described a personal example in which his child’s spacer was unavailable at a pharmacy because there was no device prescription and said that, for some medications such as albuterol, a nebulizer can be the only viable route in an acute attack.
"If you have a prescription that requires a device to administer it properly, a spacer, nebulizer, diabetic supplies, testing kits, that's all this would do is allow you to go in, use your existing prescription without a separate prescription for the device," Bayu said. He cited similar laws in other states and said the change is intended to reduce avoidable emergency-room visits.
Caitlyn Kamo, a practicing pharmacist representing the New Hampshire Pharmacist Association, testified in favor of the bill, saying pharmacists already have the training to recommend and provide administration supplies at point of sale and that doing so would improve access and lower costs for many patients. "We fully support the bill as written. I think it will expand access to patients and ... there's minimal risk to it," Kamo said, adding that pharmacists already bill for services such as vaccines and that, when covered by a plan, insurance billing can be feasible.
Committee members pressed on insurance coverage and related policy. Senator Apprentice asked whether devices dispensed under the bill would be reimbursable; Bayu responded that insurer practices vary and that the bill does not itself change reimbursement rules. Members also noted a related legislative vehicle—Senate Bill 504—that aims to broaden pharmacist prescribing and suggested coordination on implementation and messaging with the Department of Insurance and the board of pharmacy.
The hearing closed after testimony and questioning, and the committee moved into executive session to consider the bill alongside others on its calendar. The transcript records no final committee vote on HB1249 during the public hearing; the committee proceeded to consider additional bills and consent calendar items in executive session.
